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THE  TRUE  LIFE 

A  LITTLE  BOOK  ON  GRACE 

BY 

THE  REV.  FRANZ  RUMMER  3 

»■* 

Author  of  "The  Great  Secret  of  the  Saints” 

TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  GERMAN  BY 

ISABEL  GARAHAN,  B.A. 


r 


B.  HERDER  BOOK  CO., 

15  &  17  SOUTH  BROADWAY,  ST.  LOUIS,  MO., 

AND 

33  QUEEN  SQUARE,  LONDON,  W.  C. 

1926 


BOSTON 


COLLEGE 


CHESTNUT  HILL. 


ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


Printed  in  U.  S.  A. 

Sti.  Ludovici,  die  2.  Aug.  1926, 

Joannes  Rothensteiner 
Censor  Librorum 

Sti.  Ludovici,  die  4.  Aug.  1926, 

F.  G.  Holweck, 


Vic.  Gen. 


Copyright,  1926 
by  B.  HERDER  BOOK  CO. 


Vatt- Ballou  Press,  Inc.,  Binghamton  and  New  ¥ork 


FOREWORD 


Treatises  on  Grace  have  not  been  lacking  in  recent 
years.  The  demand  for  such  food  of  the  soul  on  the 
part  of  persons  interested  in  religion  is  a  happy 
proof  of  the  truth  that  a  large  number  of  people  are 
drawn  to  spiritual  contemplation,  having  become 
weary  of  a  practice  of  religion  that  has  grown  into 
a  fixed,  monotonous  pattern. 

If  the  Author  has  decided  to  contribute  a  further 
modest  little  work  to  the  rich  literature  already  ex¬ 
tant  on  the  subject  of  Grace,  it  is  because  this  beau¬ 
tiful  subject  more  than  any  other,  always  offers  fresh 
beauties  and  a  warm  stimulus  to  the  inquiring  heart; 
this  is  because  of  the  deep  interest  it  contains  for  the 
soul  of  man. 

These  thoughts  on  the  life  of  God  in  the  heart  of 
the  Christian  are  here  presented  to  the  reader,  not 
in  the  severe  form  of  scientific  research,  but  in  the 
form  of  meditations  for  the  most  part  culled  from 
the  works  of  the  most  important  New  Testament 
writers. 

If,  notwithstanding  the  variety  of  atmosphere  and 

of  the  individual  traits  of  the  different  writers,  the 

•  •  • 
in 


IV 


FOREWORD 


train  of  thought  should  be  the  same  in  all  cases,  let 
us  not  wonder  at  this,  but  rather  rejoice  that  in  all 
these  inspired  works  the  great  lines  of  the  holy  doc¬ 
trine  should  invariably  be  parallel. 

May  God  bestow  His  blessing  on  this  little  work 
and  may  He  move  many  hearts  to  treasure  and  to 
live  the  Inner  Life! 

The  Author 


\ 


CONTENTS 


PART  I 

With  the  Divine  Teacher 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I  A  Nocturnal  Visit  ........  3 

II  Divine  Food  for  the  Soul . 8 

III  The  Joyous  Song  of  Love  .  .  19 

PART  II 

With  the  Disciples 

I  With  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles  ....  35 

II  With  t^he  Beloved  Disciple  . . 46 

III  With  the  Teacher  of  Nations . 55 


V 


PART  I 


With  the  Divine  Teacher 


CHAPTER  I 

A  NOCTURNAL  VISIT 

Nicodemus,  a  member  of  the  Jewish  Sanhedrin, 
and  a  celebrated  teacher  of  the  law,  sets  forth  one 
night  to  visit  the  Divine  Saviour.  Dissatisfied  with 
the  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures  given  in  the  Rab¬ 
binical  Schools  of  Shammai  and  Hillel,  striving 
after  the  truth  and  thirsting  for  grace,  he  hopes  to 
learn  from  the  famous  Rabbi  of  Nazareth  what  he 
has  sought  elsewhere  in  vain. 

Scarcely  has  Nicodemus  declared  his  faith  in 
Jesus  as  a  Teacher  sent  by  God,  when  the  Divine 
Wisdom  made  Man  permits  this  pious  Pharisee  to 
penetrate  deep  into  the  inner  Being  of  the  Kingdom 
of  the  Messias, — a  truly  wonderful  privilege! 

“Amen,  amen,  I  say  to  thee,  unless  a  man  be  born 
again  of  water  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  cannot  enter 
into  the  Kingdom  of  God.”  But  Nicodemus  is  un¬ 
able  to  understand  this;  in  astonishment  he  asks: 
“How  can  a  man  be  born  again  when  he  is  old?” 
His  mind  is  incapable  of  rising  to  the  idea  of  a  spir¬ 
itual  rebirth,  which  consists  in  the  complete  re-creation 
of  the  inner  man.  Like  all  those  of  his  sect  he 

thinks  of  the  Kingdom  of  the  Messias  as  a  state  of 

3 


4 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


political  freedom  and  independence,  of  exterior 
splendor.  From  his  youth  onwards  he  has  been  ac¬ 
customed  to  these  views.  Yet  he  should  have  learned 
the  truth  from  Ezechiel,  who  speaks  of  a  new  life, 
founded  on  grace,  effected  by  Baptism  and  the  Holy 
Ghost.  “And  I  will  pour  upon  you  clean  water,  and 
you  shall  be  cleansed  from  all  your  filthiness,  and  I 
will  cleanse  you  from  all  your  idols.  And  I  will 
give  you  a  new  heart  and  put  a  new  spirit  within 
you ;  and  I  will  take  away  the  stony  heart  out  of  your 
flesh,  and  will  give  you  a  heart  of  flesh.  And  I  will 
put  my  spirit  in  the  midst  of  you:  and  I  will  cause 
you  to  walk  in  my  commandments  and  to  keep  my 
judgments  and  do  them.”  (Ezechiel,  XXXVI,  25- 
27). 

Christ  is  astonished  at  this  cultured  Pharisee’s  ig¬ 
norance  of  the  Scripture.  With  such  a  lucid  proph¬ 
ecy  as  this,  it  would  seem  strange  that  he  should 
know  nothing  of  the  re-creation  of  the  soul.  Christ’ 
enlightens  him,  telling  him  of  the  spiritual  rebirth 
which  must  take  place  in  all  those  who  want  to  be¬ 
come  members  of  His  Kingdom.  Repeating  His  as¬ 
sertion,  He  tells  him  yet  more  emphatically:  “Amen, 
amen,  I  say  to  thee,  unless  a  man  be  born  again  of 
water  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  cannot  enter  into  the 
Kingdom  of  God.  That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh, 
is  flesh;  and  that  which  is  born  of  the  spirit,  is 
spirit.” 


A  NOCTURNAL  VISIT 


5 


The  two  fundamental  elements  of  the  New  Life 
are  here  brought  into  sharp  prominence: — Baptism , 
the  door  to  a  life  participating  in  the  divine  Life, 
which  signifies  that  he  who  is  baptised  by  the  puri¬ 
fying  waters,  dies  to  the  world  and  the  spirit  of  the 
flesh  in  order  to  receive  a  completely  new  life;  and 
the  Holy  Ghost  as  the  Principle  of  this  spiritual  life 
of  the  soul. 

With  wonderful  mastery  the  Divine  Teacher  now 
seeks  to  explain  this  spiritual  rebirth  to  the  astonished 
disciple.  To  do  this  He  makes  use  of  a  simile  taken 
from  nature — a  simile  of  the  wind,  which  comes  at 
will,  blowing  now  in  this  direction,  now  in  that.  We 
can  perceive  its  effects,  its  soughing,  its  blustering; 
but  whence  it  comes  and  whither  it  goes,  remains  un¬ 
known  to  us.  The  simile  of  the  wind  is  a  very  ju¬ 
dicious  one  because  in  many  languages  the  same  word 
is  used  to  designate  “wind”  and  “spirit.”  The 
Saviour  wants  to  bring  home  to  this  son  of  Abraham 
the  fact  that  even  as  he  cannot  understand  whence 
comes  the  wind  and  whither  it  blows,  just  as  little  can 
he  understand  whence  the  Holy  Ghost  comes  and  what 
are  His  aims,  even  while  he  is  aware  of  the  working 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  depths  of  his  soul.  Not¬ 
withstanding  this  beautifully  clear  simile,  the  teacher 
of  the  law,' — clinging  to  the  letter, — finds  it  diffi¬ 
cult  to  imagine  the  possibility  of  spiritual  rebirth. 

The  Divine  Master  does  not  enter  into  the  question 


6 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


how  this  spiritual  rebirth  takes  place,  but  He  reveals 
to  His  disciple  the  most  profound  and  supernatural 
mysteries  of  the  doctrine  of  grace,  by  showing  him 
in  luminous  outline  the  work  of  the  Messias  in  its 
nature  and  its  effects.  Finally,  He  points  out  to  him 
the  source  of  all  grace, — His  own  death,  as  the 
Redeemer,  on  the  Cross.  He  endeavors  to  make  this 
clearer  to  the  mind  of  His  listener  by  referring  to  a 
well-known  occurrence:  “As  Moses  lifted  up  the  ser¬ 
pent  in  the  desert,  so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted 
up,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him,  may  not  perish, 
but  may  have  life  everlasting.” 

The  theology  of  the  doctrine  of  grace  as  set  forth  by 
Our  Lord  in  this  sublime  discourse,  may  be  summed 
up  as  follows: 

There  is  a  new  life ,  and  it  consists  in  the  spiritual 
rebirth  of  the  soul. 

The  source  of  this  new  life  is  the  bloody  sacrifice 
on  Mount  Golgotha. 

The  mediator  of  this  new  life  is  the  Holy  Ghost. 

The  effect  of  this  spiritual  rebirth  is  seen  in 
spiritual  change  and  a  new  moral  attitude.  This  new 
life  is  necessary ,  since  without  it,  no  one  can  enter  into 
the  Kingdom  of  God. 

Finally,  in  this  new  life  there  is  freedom  to  enjoy 
the  Love  of  the  Merciful  God. 

Nicodemus  does  not  yet  fully  understand  these 
holy  mysteries.  But  a  new  world  has  opened  up  for 


A  NOCTURNAL  VISIT 


7 


him,  though  as  yet  but  dimly.  Meanwhile  the  world 
without  has  grown  dark;  the  stars  have  appeared  in 
the  canopy  of  Heaven;  and  the  stars  of  faith  and 
charity  have  begun  to  shed  their  light  on  a  human 
heart  groping  in  the  darkness  of  doubt.  Deeply 
moved,  the  disciple  of  Moses  bids  farewell  to  the 
Divine  Master.  He  is  completely  absorbed  in  the 
new  thoughts  he  has  received  into  his  heart,  where 
they  glow  as  sparks  beneath  a  heap  of  ashes.  After 
two  more  Easter  festivals  have  passed,  the  same 
Nicodemus  stands  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross  on  Golgotha, 
of  which  he  had  heard  the  Divine  Master  speak  dimly. 
As  he  looks  upon  the  Beloved  Rabbi  bleeding  to 
death,  the  bright  stars  of  Faith  and  Love  become  for 
him  a  beacon  of  the  Divine  Truth  and  a  burning 
torch  of  Divine  Charity. 


CHAPTER  II 


DIVINE  FOOD  FOR  THE  SOUL 

(St.  John  VI) 

It  is  late  in  the  evening.  On  the  Eastern  shore  of 
Lake  Genesareth,  in  the  Hauran  Steppe,  the  Son  of 
God  has  performed  a  great  miracle:  with  five  loaves 
and  two  fishes  He  has  fed  a  multitude  of  several 
thousands,  and  twelve  basketfuls  remain  over. 
Filled  with  enthusiasm  at  such  a  royal  favor  and  such 
kindness  to  them,  the  satisfied  crowds  resolve  at  once 
to  proclaim  this  generous  Benefactor  their  King  and 
Messias.  “This  is  of  a  truth  the  prophet  that  is  come 
into  the  world,”  they  say.  But  the  Divine  Host  is 
aware  of  their  plans  and,  to  prevent  His  Apostles 
from  taking  part  in  such  an  extravagant  proceeding, 
He  commands  them  to  leave  the  multitude  that  very 
evening  and  cross  the  lake;  while  He  bids  the  people 
to  seek  shelter  for  the  oncoming  night.  He  himself, 
according  to  His  custom,  retires  to  the  solitude  of  the 
mountains  to  pray  for  His  Father’s  blessing  on  the 
great  work  of  the  following  day.  During  the  night 
a  hurricane  suddenly  blows  over  the  lake,  and  the  boat 
of  the  Apostles  is  tossed  about  like  a  nutshell  on  the 


DIVINE  FOOD  FOR  THE  SOUE 


9 


waters;  in  vain  they  struggle  with  the  wind  and  the 
waves.  All  at  once  a  mysterious  form  appears  in  the 
darkness  and  proceeds  straight  along  the  waves  to¬ 
wards  them.  “It  is  I;  be  not  afraid!”  cries  the  voice 
of  their  beloved  Master.  Two  recent  events  have 
made  an  impression  on  the  Apostles  which  will  al¬ 
ways  remain  in  their  memory:  a  few  hours  previously 
they  saw  that  Christ  could  miraculously  multiply  a 
few  loaves;  now  they  see  His  Body  rise  up  contrary 
to  nature,  unaffected  by  the  laws  of  gravity.  Thus 
they  are  prepared  for  the  great  mystery  that  will  take 
place  soon,  when  Christ  will  tell  them  of  His  corpo¬ 
real  presence  under  the  form  of  bread. 

When  at  daybreak  Jesus  enters  the  synagogue  of 
Capharnaum,  He  is  surrounded  by  the  multitude, 
some  of  whom  had  followed  Him  over  the  country, 
full  of  joyous  expectation  that  to-day  also  He  would 
relieve  them  of  their  anxiety  regarding  food  by  re¬ 
peating  the  miracle  of  yesterday.  But  the  Saviour, 
saddened  by  this  material-mindedness,  reproaches 
them:  “You  seek  me,  not  because  you  have  seen 
miracles,  but  because  you  did  eat  of  the  loaves  and 
were  filled.  Labor  not  for  the  meat  which  perisheth, 
but  for  that  which  endureth  unto  life  everlasting, 
which  the  Son  of  man  will  give  you.” 

Now  when  the  people  hear  of  a  food  that  will  last, 
not  only  for  a  few  days  but  for  ever,  their  enthusiasm 
knows  no  bounds,  and  with  the  simplicity  of  the 


10 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


Samaritan  woman  at  Jacob’s  well,  they  ask:  “Lord, 
give  us  always  this  bread!”  But  Jesus  puts  an  end 
to  their  misunderstanding  by  telling  them:  “I  am 
the  Bread  of  Life:  he  that  cometh  to  me  shall  not 
hunger:  and  he  that  believeth  in  me  shall  never 
thirst.  But  I  said  unto  you  that  you  also  have  seen 
me  and  you  believe  not.” 

The  hearts  of  these  Jews  are  filled  with  material 
and  sensual  desires.  They  cannot  rise  to  the  spiritual 
view,  nor  to  humble  faith  in  the  Master;  much  less  can 
this  narrow-minded  multitude  grasp  the  further  teach¬ 
ing  of  the  Saviour. 

He  now  directs  their  thoughts  into  an  entirely  new 
channel.  While  He  has  hitherto  spoken  to  them  in 
the  present  tense  and  His  teaching  has  soared  to  the 
heights  of  faith  in  Him  as  the  Messias,  He  now  speaks 
of  the  future,  promising  Himself — His  Flesh  and 
Blood — as  a  Divine  Food,  by  means  of  which  He  en¬ 
ters  the  heart  of  every  believer  as  a  new  Foundation 
of  Life.  “I  am  the  Living  Bread,  which  came  down 
from  Heaven.  If  any  man  eat  of  this  Bread,  he  shall 
live  for  ever;  and  the  Bread  that  I  will  give  is  my 
flesh  for  the  life  of  the  world.” 

Although  there  is  an  angry  murmur  of  opposition 
among  the  assembled  crowd,  a  hostility  that  grows 
louder  and  louder  like  the  awful  rumbling  of  an 
earthquake  and  spreads  even  to  the  very  hearts  of  His 
disciples,  not  yet  strong  in  faith, — nevertheless  the 


DIVINE  FOOD  FOR  THE  SOUL 


11 


Lord  continues  to  explain  the  mystery  of  the  Bread 
from  Heaven.  He  repeats  what  He  has  already  said, 
but  this  time  more  definitely:  “Amen,  amen,  I  say 
unto  you:  Except  you  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of 
man  and  drink  His  blood,  you  shall  not  have  life  in 
you.  He  that  eateth  my  flesh  and  drinketh  my  blood 
hath  everlasting  life:  and  I  will  raise  him  up  in  the 
last  day.  For  my  flesh  is  meat  indeed  and  my  blood 
is  drink  indeed.”  Then  Jesus  permits  His  faithful 
followers  to  glimpse  the  joys  of  Heaven  and  to  pene¬ 
trate  into  the  sanctuary  of  the  chosen  soul,  describing 
in  a  language  that  here  reaches  its  climax,  the  divine 
effects  of  this  Bread  from  Heaven:  “He  that  eateth 
my  flesh  and  drinketh  my  blood  hath  everlasting  life, 
abideth  in  me  and  I  in  him.  As  the  living  Father 
hath  sent  me,  and  I  live  by  the  Father;  so  he  that  eat¬ 
eth  me,  the  same  also  shall  live  by  me.” 

We  can  picture  the  crowd  as  they  quit  the  syna¬ 
gogue,  embittered  and  disappointed ;  but  the  Apostles, 
impressed  by  the  miracle  they  have  just  witnessed,  re¬ 
main,  begin  to  have  faith  in  the  words  spoken  by  the 
Master.  And  when  He  alludes  to  His  ascension  with 
His  glorified  Body  to  the  Father,  and  to  the  spiritual 
meaning  of  His  words, — “the  words  that  I  have 
spoken  to  you  are  spirit  and  life,” — the  golden  rays 
of  faith  penetrate  the  thick  veil  of  doubt,  and  Peter, 
in  the  name  of  his  fellow  Apostles,  makes  a  sublime 
profession  of  fidelity  and  faith:  “Lord,  to  whom 


12 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


shall  we  go?  Thou  hast  words  of  eternal  life.  And 
we  have  believed  and  have  known  that  thou  art  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God.” 

The  foregoing  quoted  words  indisputably  form  the 
cardinal  point  of  the  whole  discourse  in  which  the 
Divine  Saviour  summarises  the  mighty  plan  of  salva¬ 
tion:  “He  that  eateth  my  flesh  and  drinketh  my 
blood  abideth  in  me  and  I  in  him.  As  the  living 
Father  hath  sent  me,  and  I  live  by  the  Father;  so  he 
that  eateth  me,  the  same  also  shall  live  by  me.”  In 
this  text  are  unfolded  the  three  great  mysteries  of 
the  Redemption — the  Trinity,  the  Incarnation,  and 
the  Eucharist,  together  with  their  significance,  which 
consists  in  man  sharing  through  these  mysteries  in 
the  Divine  Nature  and  thus,  in  a  supernatural  way, 
attaining  to  happiness.  The  life  of  the  Only-begotten 
has  its  origin  in  the  life  of  the  Trinity  (“As  the  liv¬ 
ing  Father  hath  sent  me,”) ;  in  time  this  divine  life 
assumed  a  visible  form  through  the  mystery  of  the 
Incarnation  in  Emmanuel;  and  henceforward  the 
divine  life,  through  the  Eucharist,  shall  continue  to 
flow  into  the  hearts  of  millions  and  millions  of  be¬ 
lieving  Christians. 

For  this  reason  the  Lord  laid  aside,  as  it  were,  the 
celestial  garb  of  His  Divinity  in  order,  as  the  new 
Adam  and  the  Bearer  of  the  divine  life,  to  sink  His 
Being  into  human  nature;  it  was  for  this  reason,  too, 
that  He  divested  Himself  of  the  visible  cloak  of  His 


DIVINE  FOOD  FOR  THE  SOUL 


13 


corporeality  to  assume  the  form  of  bread,  that  He 
might  thus  be  able  to  bestow  upon  each  individual 
heart  the  highest  conceivable  degree  of  intimacy  with 
the  Godhead  and  to  implant  Himself  as  the  seed  of 
divine  life  in  each.  Personal  union  with  God 
is  the  object  of  the  deepest  yearning  of  the  hu¬ 
man  heart.  As  the  Son  of  God,  by  assuming  the 
nature  of  man,  united  Heaven  and  earth,  the  human 
and  the  Divine,  the  eternal  and  the  temporal,  so,  too, 
in  the  Blessed  Eucharist  He  wishes  to  be  the  merciful 
bond  that  unites  each  and  every  soul  with  God. 
Now,  in  order  to  extend  this  union  beyond  the  nature 
of  a  mere  moral  tie,  to  make  it  real  and  personal,  and 
in  order  also  to  reveal  outwardly  the  inner  growth  of 
grace  resulting  from  this  union,  the  Redeemer  chooses 
the  elements  of  food  and  drink,  in  the  form  of  bread 
and  wine,  as  vessels  to  hold  His  Being.  As  the  food 
we  eat  becomes  a  part  of  us  by  passing  into  our  flesh 
and  blood,  so  Christ  becomes  united  to  our  nature 
in  a  most  intimate  way.  Of  course,  we  must  not  ig¬ 
nore  the  great  distinction  that  exists  between  our  con¬ 
sumption  of  material  food  and  our  partaking  of  the 
Bread  from  Heaven.  We  should  fall  back  into  the 
false  interpretation  given  by  the  Jews  of  Caphamaum 
and  take  away  from  the  sublime  idea  of  Christ  if  we 
were  to  regard  in  the  same  way  the  incorporation  of 
the  Blessed  Eucharist,  which  is  living  and  spiritual, 
and  the  consumption  of  material  food. 


14 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


“Thou  wilt  eat  my  Flesh,”  St.  Augustine  once 
heard  a  mysterious  Voice  say  to  him,  as  he  relates 
in  his  “Confessions,”  “but  thou  shalt  not  change  me 
into  thee,  but  rather  thou  shalt  become  changed  into 
me.”  ( Conf .,  I,  7,  c.  10).  St.  Leo  says:  “Com¬ 
munion  with  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ  has  no 
other  end  than  that  we  should  become  changed  into 
Him  of  whom  we  partake  and  that  we  should  bear 
always  in  body  and  spirit  Him  in  whom  we  die,  are 
buried,  and  arise  again.”  (Serin.  14  de  Pass .  Dom .) 

“He  that  eateth  my  flesh  and  drinketh  my  blood 
abideth  in  me.”  According  to  these  words  the  chief 
aim  of  sacramental  union  with  Jesus  is  the  real  and 
mystic  union  with  Him  in  the  Spirit:  de  ore  in  cor — 
from  mouth  to  heart,  as  Hugh  of  St.  Victor  says. 
The  indescribable  unity  of  bodies  must  be  followed 
by  an  equally  sublime  communion  of  life  and  spirit 
with  the  Son  of  God.  “As  Christ,  by  His  visible  en¬ 
trance  into  the  world,  bestowed  upon  us  the  life  of 
grace;  so,  in  the  words  of  St.  John  (I,  17),  ‘grace  and 
truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ’;  and  in  the  same  way,  by 
His  sacramental  intercourse,  He  effects  a  new  life  of 
grace  in  man:  ‘He  that  eateth  me,  the  same  also 
shall  live  by  me.’  ”  (St.  Thomas,  Summa  Theol. , 
Ilia,  qu.  79,  art.  1). 

According  to  an  expression  of  St.  Augustine  that 
is  at  once  profound  and  tender,  Christ  nourishes  us 
with  the  milk  of  the  Eucharist  only  in  order  that  He 


DIVINE  FOOD  FOR  THE  SOUL 


15 


may  thus  condescend  to  our  frailty  and  fill  us  with 
the  Holy  Ghost;  and  in  the  same  way  St.  Chrysostom 
speaks  of  the  Blessed  Eucharist  as  the  Bosom  of  the 
mystery  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ( Horn .  de  St.  Philogonis, 
VII,  890),  whence  we  should  imbibe  new  life  and 
grace,  so  that  we  may  experience  a  strengthening  of 
the  inner  man  and  become  more  and  more  filled  with 
the  complete  plenitude  of  God  and  grow  in  Him  who 
is  the  Head — i.  e.,  Christ.  But  all  growth  in  virtue, 
every  increase  of  grace,  every  advance  we  make  in 
the  mystic  union  with  God,  have  their  beginning  in 
the  increase  and  fortification  of  one  fundamental 
force, — charity.  This  virtue  is  the  magic  wand  that 
transforms  us  into  Christ — amor  transf ormans;  it  is 
the  fire  which  consumes  all  that  is  material  in  the 
soul.  Well  have  the  ancient  liturgies — thinking  of 
the  live  coal  with  which  the  seraph  cleansed  the  lips 
of  the  prophet  Isaias, — named  the  Body  of  Christ  in 
the  Holy  Eucharist  “pruna,”  i.  e.,  “live  coal,”  with 
which  our  souls  shall  be  purified  and  recast.  Hence 
St.  Thomas  Aquinas  pronounces  charity  to  be  the 
most  beautiful  and  the  most  precious  fruit  of  this 
Sacrament:  “Through  the  reception  of  the  Eucharist 
not  only  is  there  an  increase  of  grace  and  of  the 
virtues,  especially  of  charity,  but  above  all  the  habit 
of  charity  becomes  inflamed  to  activity — caritas  in 
actum  excitatur — according  to  2  Cor.  V,  14:  ‘The 
charity  of  Christ  presseth  us.’  From  this  it  fol- 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


16 

lows  that  the  soul  is  supernaturally  refreshed  by 
the  power  of  this  Sacrament  and,  as  it  were,  intoxi¬ 
cated  by  the  sweetness  of  divine  love.”  (St.  Thomas, 
l.c.).  <As  under  the  hot  rays  of  the  sun  the  hard, 
green  berries  of  the  vine  gradually  become  trans¬ 
formed  into  sweet,  golden  fruit,  so  the  warmth  of  the 
love  of  Christ  in  the  Holy  Eucharist  effects  a  change 
in  the  soul  of  man,  making  him  turn  to  Christ  in  love, 
especially  in  the  love  that  manifests  itself  in  sacrifice; 
for  it  is  the  glorified  Body  of  Christ  that  is  mystically 
implanted  within  us,  in  order  that  our  whole  being, 
body  and  soul,  may  be  offered  up  as  a  spiritual  sac¬ 
rifice  to  the  Father.  Sensual  thoughts  and  acts  give 
place  more  and  more  to  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of 
Jesus;  His  truth  becomes  the  divine  light  of  our  souls, 
His  love  the  flaming  torch  in  our  hearts,  until  the 
words  of  the  Lord  become  realized  in  their  fullest 
sense:  “He  abideth  in  me.” 

“And  I  in  him.”  What  significant  and  sublime 
words  are  these!  What  sweetness  they  contain! 
“We  are  in  truth  the  bearers  of  Christ!”  exclaims  St. 
Cyril  of  Jerusalem  in  holy  astonishment,  “receiving 
in  our  limbs  His  Flesh  and  Blood,  and  thus  partic¬ 
ipating,  as  St.  Peter  says,  in  the  Divine  Nature!” 
( Catech .  My  stag.,  4) .  And  Christ,  as  He  Himself  has 
promised,  remains  in  us,  even  when  the  sacramental 
species  are  no  longer  present.  He  remains  within 
us  as.  God  by  His  divine  presence  through  grace,  He 


DIVINE  FOOD  FOR  THE  SOUL 


17 


retains  for  us,  too,  the  purely  human  love  of  His 
Sacred  Heart;  therein  lies  a  particularly  sweet  and 
loving  side  of  the  Blessed  Eucharist.  Holy  Com¬ 
munion  is  not  only  the  union  of  our  souls  with 
Christ’s  Divinity;  it  is  also  the  intimate  union  of  our 
souls  with  His  sacred,  human  soul,  so  full  of  love 
and  tender  mercy,  so  full  of  grace  and  truth,  of  wis¬ 
dom  and  knowledge,  and  of  the  gifts  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Hearts*  separated  by  time  and  space  from 
those  whom  they  love  with  a  human  love,  remain 
near  to  them  in  spirit  through  memory,  feeling,  and 
will;  often,  the  longing  increases  with  the  greater 
time  and  space  and  sometimes  they  grow  sick  with 
nostalgia.  When  we  consider  these  facts,  we  can  see 
how  impossible  would  be  coldness  or  absence  of  feel¬ 
ing  on  the  part  pf  the  most  loving  Divine  Heart  to¬ 
wards  our  souls;  for,  is  not  the  union  of  His  Heart 
with  ours  the  aim  of  His  Eucharistic  presence?  Still 
less  can  we  believe  this  coldness  possible  when  the 
human  heart,  enjoying  this  divine  favor,  glows  with 
responsive  love  for  the  Divine  Guest.  To  be 
espoused,  even  in  His  glorified  human  Nature,  to  the 
believing  soul  was  the  Saviour’s  most  profound  long¬ 
ing:  “With  desire  I  have  desired  to  eat  this  pasch 
with  you,  before  I  suffer.”  (St.  Luke  XXII,  15). 
“Having  loved  His  own  who  were  in  the  world,  He 
loved  them  unto  the  end.”  (St.  John  XIII,  1). 
Thus  the  Blessed  Eucharist  constitutes  a  lasting  bond 


18 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


between  Jesus  and  the  soul,  a  bond  that  cannot  be 
loosened  by  exterior,  material  separation,  but  rather 
is  drawn  more  closely  by  the  intense  spiritual  power 
of  love.  “He  abideth  in  me,  and  I  in  him.” 

But  Jesus  reveals  to  us  yet  further  and  more  mag¬ 
nificent  perspectives.  His  eye  travels  way  beyond 
this  temporal  life  into  the  Kingdom  of  His  Father. 
“He  that  eateth  my  flesh  and  drinketh  my  blood  hath 
everlasting  life:  and  I  will  raise  him  up  in  the  last 
day.”  “He  that  eateth  this  bread  shall  live  for  ever.” 
Partaking  of  the  Blessed  Eucharist  here  on  earth 
is  the  type  and  pledge  of  our  promised  enjoyment  of 
God  in  eternity.  The  same  germ  of  life  that  is 
planted  in  the  soul  and  nourished  in  this  life  will 
hereafter  in  the  “visio  beatified 9  evolve  into  the  life 
that  is  conformable  to  God.  All  material  perceptions 
will  be  at  an  end,  all  images  and  representations  will 
fade  away;  the  divine  principle  of  life,  adhering  to 
the  soul,  will  in  a  wonderful  way  widen  our  spirit¬ 
ual  power  of  understanding  in  the  light  of  glory;  and 
by  this  light  the  soul,  watching  and  loving,  shall 
in  a  great  expanse  of  bliss  embrace  the  indescrib¬ 
able  Being  of  God.  “They  shall  be  inebriated  with 
the  plenty  of  thy  house;  and  thou  shalt  make  them 
drink  of  the  torrent  of  thy  pleasure.  For  with  thee 
is  the  fountain  of  life;  and  in  thy  light  we  shall  see 
light.”  (Ps.  XXXV,  9,  10). 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  JOYOUS  SONG  OF  LOYE 

(St.  John  XIV-XVII) 

The  feast  at  which  love  and  intimacy  reigned  is 
over.  The  last  sounds  of  the  great  Alleluia  have 
died  away,  and  Jesus  rises  to  take  leave  of  His  faith¬ 
ful  followers.  When  persons  who  have  long  been 
joined  in  true  friendship  are  about  to  separate,  they 
are  overwhelmed  by  tender,  painful  feelings ;  if  their 
bodies  must  be  parted,  then  at  least  the  union  of 
their  souls  should  be  all  the  more  ardent.  Now,  the 
Apostles  believe  in  Jesus  as  the  Word  of  God  made 
Flesh;  but  their  belief  is  not  yet  perfect.  In  their 
confused  minds  they  are  uncertain  as  to  the  form  their 
relations  with  the  Father  shall  take;  and  now,  having 
been  told  that  their  dear  Master  is  about  to  return 
home,  they  are  yet  more  puzzled  as  to  what  these 
bonds  shall  be  that  shall  bind  them  to  Him  to  the  end 
of  time.  This  vague  groping  and  seeking  that  goes 
on  in  the  hearts  of  the  Apostles  is  revealed  in  the 
petition  made  by  Philip:  “Lord,  show  us  the  Father, 
and  it  is  enough  for  us!”  (St.  John  XIV,  8).  And 

the  Heart  of  Jesus,  which  had  just  revealed  itself  in 

19 


20 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


an  incomprehensible  and  adorable  act  of  love  by  the 
institution  of  the  Holy  Eucharist,  is  now  opened  to 
them  a  second  time  as  Christ  reveals  to  His  disciples 
an  entirely  new  world,  which  they  will  understand 
fully  only  after  they  have  received  the  Holy  Ghost. 
He  gives  them  a  deep  insight  into  the  sanctuary  of 
grace ,  into  the  state  of  man’s  most  fervent  union  with 
God.  In  chapters  14-17  of  his  Gospel,  St.  John 
treasures  up  this  sweet,  divine  message  of  joy  as  a 
uniquely  precious  jewel. 

Love  is  the  fundamental  note  in  the  Lord’s  fare¬ 
well  addresses;  the  theme  pursued  by  the  Divine 
Teacher  in  all  its  variations  is:  Remain  in  fyly  Love, 
you  in  Me,  and  I  in  you!  To  give  His  disciples  a 
truly  sublime  understanding  of  this  divine  com¬ 
munion  of  love,  infinitely  higher  than  all  passing  ties 
of  earthly  love,  He  places  it  in  the  same  rank  as  the 
love  that  binds  Him  to  His  Heavenly  Father:  64 As 
the  Father  hath  loved  me,  I  also  have  loved  you.” 
(St.  John  XV,  9).  The  same  love  that  h  the  life  of 
the  Trinity  is  poured  from  the  Heart  of  the  Father 
into  the  Heart  of  the  Son;  the  same  love  that  flowed 
from  the  Eternal  Word  into  the  sacred  humanity  of 
Jesus, — this  self-same  love  shall  continue  now  to  flow 
between  the  Messias  and  His  followers.  Jhe  rela¬ 
tion  that  exists  between  the  Son  and  the  Father  shall 
be  imitated  in  the  relation  of  the  faithful  to  the 
eternal  Word  of  God.  Through  the  Incarnation  the 


THE  JOYOUS  SONG  OF  LOVE 


21 


Son  of  God  made  Himself  a  member  of  the  human 
race,  with  whom  He  is  mystically  united.  Thence 
His  divine  life  became  the  new  life  of  redeemed  man¬ 
kind.  This  is  the  highest  aim  of  the  great  act  of  the 
Redemption.  After  the  healing  of  the  man  born 
blind,  Christ  said:  “I  am  come,  that  they  may  have 
life,  and  may  have  it  more  abundantly.”  (St.  John 
X,  10). 

Is  this  threefold  equation  of  love  a  valid  one? 
Does  it  not  sound  presumptuous  and  fanciful  to  say 
that  the  Apostles — and  with  them  all  redeemed  man¬ 
kind, — are  raised  up  to  a  divine  height  and  dignity, 
the  thought  of  which  terrifies  us?  At  first  sight  the 
words  of  the  Saviour  might  be  looked  upon  as  a  sweet 
effusion  of  sentimentality;  actually,  they  let  us 
take  a  glance  into  the  abysmal  mystery  of  grace. 
If  the  hearts  of  the  Apostles  had  only  shone  forth 
in  the  light  of  a  natural  nobility  and  kindly  affec¬ 
tion  for  their  Lord,  then  the  comparison  could 
never  be  a  just  one.  But  it  is  a  new,  supernatural 
beauty  of  the  soul  that  radiates  from  the  hearts  of  the 
Apostles  like  the  sparkling  of  the  diamond  in  the  sun¬ 
light.  For,  since  the  disciples  have  gradually  risen 
to  faith  in  the  Divinity  of  Jesus,  and  have  nobly  re¬ 
nounced  the  sinful,  godless  world;  since,  by  institut¬ 
ing  the  Blessed  Eucharist  a  few  moments  before  His 
death  on  the  cross,  the  Divine  Master  applied  the  fruit 
of  His  Redemption  to  them,  He  sees  radiating  from 


22 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


them  glorious  traits  of  resemblance  to  Himself,  He 
sees  in  them  the  reflection  of  His  divine  life  in  that 
they  are  children  of  God  by  sanctifying  grace. 
Hence  the  comparison:  “As  the  Father  has  loved 
me,  so  do  I  love  you.”  And  not  only  the  Apostles, 
but  all  believers,  are  drawn  into  this  sublime  circle  of 
divine  communion  of  life.  Hence,  in  the  evening 
prayer  of  His  life  as  High  Priest,  Christ  petitions: 
“Not  for  them  only  do  I  pray,  but  for  them  also  who 
through  their  word  shall  believe  in  me;  that  they  all 
may  be  one,  as  thou,  Father,  in  me,  and  I  in  thee; 
that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us.”  (St.  John  XVII, 
20).  And  now  He  once  more  raises  the  veil  from 
the  divine  communion  of  Love,  showing  that  in  its 
essence  it  is  a  participation  in  the  life  of  glory  which 
He  leads  with  His  Father:  “And  the  glory  which 
thou  hast  given  me,  I  have  given  to  them;  that  they 
may  be  one,  as  we  also  are  one:  I  in  them  and  thou 
in  me;  that  they  may  be  made  perfect  in  one,  .  .  . 
Father,  I  will  that  where  I  am,  they  also  whom  thou 
hast  given  me  may  be  with  me,  that  they  may  see  my 
glory,  which  thou  hast  given  me”  (St.  John  XVII, 
22—25), — a  glory  which  the  Beloved  Disciple  at  the 
beginning  of  his  Gospel  designates  more  exactly  as 
the  two  fundamental  elements  of  the  divine  life  in  the 
human  soul — the  supernatural  knowledge  of  the 
truth  and  the  supernatural  operation  of  love:  “And 
we  saw  His  glory,  the  glory  as  it  were  of  the  Only- 


THE  JOYOUS  SONG  OF  LOVE 


23 


begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth.” 
(St.  John  I,  14). 

The  old  covenant  with  its  servile  spirit  of  fear  is 
now  abolished,  and  in  this  hour  a  new  covenant  is 
formed  for  the  disciples — the  covenant  of  love  and 
true  friendship  with  God.  The  Apostle  no  longer 
stands  to  God  in  the  relation  of  slave  to  master,  but 
in  the  relation  rather  of  friend  to  Friend;  he  opens 
his  heart  to  him  and  entrusts  Him  with  the  secrets  of 
his  soul:  “I  will  not  now  call  you  servants:  for  the 
servant  knoweth  not  what  his  lord  doth.  But  I  have 
called  you  friends:  because  all  things  whatsoever  I 
have  heard  of  my  Father,  I  have  made  known  unto 
you.”  (St.  John  XV,  15). 

The  Saviour’s  words  are  a  revelation  in  which 
Heaven  descends  to  crown  and  complete  the  com¬ 
munion  of  love  with  God  already  on  earth; — a 
revelation  which,  as  it  were,  draws  aside  the  veil  that 
hangs  before  the  All-Holy,  in  order  to  reveal  to  the 
God-seeking  heart  the  most  profound  mystery  of 
grace.  With  incomprehensible  benignity  the  most 
adorable  mystery  of  the  Sacred  Trinity  descends  into 
the  chosen  soul,  in  order  to  erect  within  it  the  sub¬ 
lime  throne  of  His  dwelling-place,  bringing  a  far 
greater  wealth  of  grace  than  when  He  dwelt  among 
the  Cherubim  in  the  mysterious  cloud  above  the  Ark 
of  the  Covenant:  “If  anyone  love  me,  he  will  keep 
my  word,  and  my  Father  will  love  him,  and  we  will 


24 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


come  to  him  and  will  make  our  abode  with  him.” 
(St.  John,  XIV,  23).  We  can  picture  the  Apostles 
dumb  with  amazement  at  such  a  revelation.  But 
later,  when  they  had  received  the  baptism  of  fire 
from  the  Holy  Ghost,  when  through  the  self-denying 
life  exacted  by  their  vocation  they  had,  after  many 
Apostolic  pilgrimages,  gradually  attained  to  a  com¬ 
munion  of  suffering,  and  through  it  to  the  unio 
mystica  with  their  Divine  Master,  the  meaning  of 
those  mysterious  words  dawned  on  their  souls,  and 
they  must  have  realized  the  further  words  of  their 
Master  with  joyful  hearts:  “He  that  loveth  me  shall 
be  loved  of  my  Father:  and  I  will  love  him  and  will 
manifest  myself  to  him.”  (St.  John  XIV,  21). 

It  is  true  that  also  in  the  new  order  of  grace  char¬ 
ity  is  not  excluded  by  obedience,  nor  obedience 
by  charity.  If,  according  to  a  modern  author¬ 
ity,  the  innermost  essence  of  the  natural  life  con¬ 
sists  in  love,  and  if  the  essence  of  love  is  none  other 
than  the  surrender  of  the  will  to  the  beloved  one 
through  service,  then  supernatural  love,  too,  must  be 
manifested  and  maintained  by  obedience  to  the  holy 
Will  of  God.  Love  conditions  obedience,  and  obedi¬ 
ence,  love.  Refusal  of  obedience  implies  the  absence 
of  love,  and  absence  of  love  for  Jesus  means  separa¬ 
tion  from  Him.  Hence,  in  His  words  of  farewell,  the 
Saviour  again  and  again  refers  to  the  duty  of  strict 
obedience;  nay,  He  makes  the  continuance  of  the  com- 


THE  JOYOUS  SONG  OF  LOVE 


25 


munion  of  grace  depend  on  this  obedience.  “He 
that  hath  my  commandments  and  keepeth  them,  he  it 
is  that  loveth  me.”  (St.  John  XIV,  21).  “If  you 
keep  my  commandments,  you  shall  abide  in  my  love.” 
(St.  John  XV,  10).  “You  are  my  friends  if  you  do 
the  things  that  I  command  you.”  (St.  John  XV,  14). 
“He  that  loveth  me  not,  keepeth  not  my  words.” 
(St.  John  XIV,  24). 

This  communion  of  divine  grace  is  more  closely 
illustrated  by  the  Son  of  God  in  the  parable  of  the 
vine, — an  Old  Testament  parable  which  the  disciples 
understood  all  the  more  easily  because  they  had  but 
a  few  moments  previously  drunk  from  the  Chalice  of 
the  Passover  the  mysterious  blood  of  the  vine.  “I 
am  the  true  vine;  and  my  Father  is  the  husbandman.” 
(St.  John  XV,  1).  In  the  mystery  of  the  Incarnation 
Christ  grafted  Himself,  the  divine  and  glorious  vine, 
on  the  tree  of  humanity  and  in  this  way  implanted  on 
it  and  its  branches  a  new  divine  sap  of  life.  “The 
vine  and  its  tendrils  are  of  one  nature,”  says  St. 
Augustine.  “Hence  it  was  that  God — whose  nature 
we  do  not  share — became  man  in  order  that  in  Him 
human  nature  should  become  the  vine,  of  which  we 
also  could  be  a  part.”  (St.  Augustine  on  the  Gospel 
of  St.  John,  XV).  Hence  it  is  that  since  that  time 
an  organic  union  of  man  with  God,  through  the  God- 
man  Jesus  Christ,  is  possible.  And  now  the  Lord 
points  out  the  fruit  and  the  blessings  enjoyed  by  the 


26 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


soul  that  remains  steadfastly  united  to  Him,  as  well 
as  the  destruction  and  ruin  that  ‘await  him  who  de¬ 
parts  from  this  union.  The  Father  in  Heaven 
proceeds  with  men  in  a  way  exactly  similar  to  that  of 
the  vine-dresser  with  his  vines.  He  cuts  off  the  dead 
branches,  but  he  also  applies  his  sharp  knife  to  a 
painful  pruning  of  the  healthy,  vigorous  vine,  to 
liberate  it  from  noxious  suckers  and  sprouts,  and  also 
that  the  circulation  of  the  sap  may  be  concentrated  on 
the  putting  forth  of  buds.  “Every  branch  in  me  that 
beareth  not  fruit,  he  will  take  away:  and  everyone 
that  beareth  fruit,  he  will  purge  it,  that  it 'may  bring 
forth  more  fruit.”  (St.  John  XV,  2).  Therefore 
there  can  never  be  any  question  of  communion  of  life 
in  the  next  world  for  such  members  as  are  dead  in 
faith  and  love  and  no  longer  have  a  living,  organic 
union  with  Jesus.  But  He  also  tests  and  purges  His 
chosen  ones  by  painful  trials  in  the  form  of  afflictions 
and  troubles  of  all  sorts,  until  the  last  traces  of  undue 
attachment  and  selfish  inperfection  are  mortified  and 
the  union  with  God  through  grace  is  unclouded.  But 
this  painful  pruning  and  purging  of  the  tendrils  is 
not  yet  enough;  abundant  sap  must  be  conveyed  from 
the  roots  of  the  vine  to  the  branches.  Without  this 
divine  life-blood  flowing  from  his  union  with  Christ, 
the  disciple  can  never  put  forth  supernatural  fruit, 
the  only  kind  that  has  value  in  the  eyes  of  God. 
Though  a  man  should  succeed,  by  exerting  the  most 


BOSTON  COLLEGE  Li 
CHESTNUT 

THE  JOYOUS  SONG  OF  LOVE 

ingenious  powers  and  under  the  strain  of  iron 
try,  in  performing  work  and  producing  results  which 
later  generations  will  look  upon  with  admiration  and 
gratitude, — yet  in  the  eyes  of  God  these  works  are 
worthless  if  their  author  has  not  lived  in  union  with 
Christ:  “ magnae  vires  et  currus  celerrimus,  sed  prae- 
ter  viam” — glorious  talents,  gigantic  strides,  but 
along  the  path  of  error,  as  St.  Augustine  remarked  on 
one  occasion.  ( Enarr .  in  Ps.,  31).  The  works  of 
man,  when  he  relies  on  himself  alone,  spring  from 
purely  natural  motives  and  therefore  remain  unprofit¬ 
able  before  God.  “As  the  branch  cannot  bear  fruit 
of  itself,  unless  it  abide  in  the  vine,  so  neither  can 
you,  unless  you  abide  in  me.  .  .) .  He  that  abideth 
in  me,  and  I  in  him,  the  same  beareth  much  fruit:  for 
without  me  you  can  do  nothing.  If  any  one  abide  not 
in  me,  he  shall  be  cast  forth  as  a  branch  and  shall 
wither;  and  they  shall  gather  him  up,  and  cast  him 

f 

into  the  fire,  and  he  burneth.”/  (St.  John  XV,  4-6). 
The  cement  which  unites  God  and  the  soul  is  sanctify¬ 
ing  graced  the  life-giving  sap  that  flowed  between 
Christ  and  the  disciple  is  love;  hence  the  earnest  ex¬ 
hortation  of  the  Master  at  the  conclusion  of  this  par¬ 
able — “Abide  in  my  love!”  (St.  John,  XV,  9). 

The  Holy  Ghost  is  the  Author  and  Perfecter  of  this 
new  state  with  its  divine  communion  of  life. 
Through  Him  Christ  dwells  in  the  hearts  of  believers 
even  after  He  has  left  this  world.  What  He  Himself 


28 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


has  been  to  the  Apostles  during  His  stay  on  earth — 
the  object  of  their  love,  their  Teacher  and  Guide,  their 
trusted  Friend  and  Consoler — all  this  He  continues 
to  be,  through  the  Holy  Ghost,  after  His  Ascension  to 
the  Father.  He  does  not  wish  to  leave  His  disciples 
behind  as  orphans:  “I  will  ask  the  Father,  and  he 
shall  give  you  another  Paraclete,  that  he  may  abide 
with  you  for  ever.”  (St.  John  XIV,  16).  “But  the 
Paraclete,  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  the  Father  will  send 
in  my  name,  he  will  teach  you  all  things,  and  bring 
all  things  to  your  mind,  whatsoever  I  shall  have  said 
to  you.”  (St.  John  XIV,  26).  Therefore,  He  will 
not  only  be  near  to  guard  and  protect  them  in  time  of 
need,  but  He  will  dwell  within  them  personally;  He 
will  not  come  as  a  passing  guest,  to  withdraw  after  a 
short  visit;  but  He  will  remain  with  them  always, 
until  the  dawn  of  eternal  life  breaks  for  them  at 
death. 

The  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  within  the  hearts  of 
men  is  twofold;  as  the  living  Fountain  of  Truth  He 
continues  objectively  the  teaching  of  Jesus  in  the 
magisterium  of  the  Church,  preserving  it  from  error 
and  unfolding  the  substance  of  faith  according  to  the 
needs  of  the  times;  while,  subjectively,  the  Holy  Ghost 
makes  the  hearts  of  men  receptive  for  the  teaching  of 
Jesus,  purifies  them,  making  their  defective  knowl¬ 
edge  deep,  broad,  and  full,  causes  new  knowl¬ 
edge  to  spring  up  within  them,  and  reveals  to 


THE  JOYOUS  SONG  OF  LOVE 


29 


them  with  marvellous  clearness  the  great  and  pro¬ 
found  mystery  of  the  divine  economy  of  salvation. 
Thus  is  formed  in  their  hearts  a  firm  and  joyous  faith: 
“In  that  day  you  shall  know,  that  I  am  in  my  Father, 
and  you  in  me,  and  I  in  you.”  (St.  John  XIY,  20). 
Just  as,  when  we  take  a  perspective  view  from  the 
mountains,  we  first  see  a  hill  close  at  hand,  then, 
climbing  higher,  we  catch  sight  of  a  village,  and  then 
a  wider  range  of  hills,  until  our  delighted  eye  wanders 
away  into  the  blue  distance,  and  the  whole  panorama 
is  spread  before  us  in  all  its  beauty ;  so  there  stretches 
out  before  the  spiritual  vision  of  the  Apostles,  en¬ 
lightened  by  grace,  the  image  of  their  Master,  His 
life,  works,  and  teaching,  according  to  a  plan  not 
yet  understood  by  them.  They  receive  an  insight  into 
the  full  purport  and  essence  of  His  new  religion  and 
recognise  its  chief  aim — the  union  of  the  creature 
with  the  Creator  through  the  Mediator,  Jesus  Christ. 
Enlightened  by  faith,  they  see  into  the  inner,  divine 
life;  they  see  this  life  flowing  down  in  three  great 
streams  from  Heaven  to  earth:  in  an  eternal  commun¬ 
ion  of  Being  it  flows  from  the  Father  to  the  Son,  and 
thence  earthward  into  the  sacred  Humanity  of  the 
Divine  Word;  from  the  Godman  it  pours  through 
millions  of  channels  into  the  hearts  of  the  faithful, 
and  thence  flows  back  into  the  Bosom  of  the  Holy 
Trinity.  Now  it  is  clear  to  them  beyond  all  doubt 
that  Christ  is  the  only  way  to  God;  they  understand 


30  THE  TRUE  LIFE  . 

the  final  words  of  His  farewell  address:  VI  am  the 
way,  and  the  truth,  and  the  life.’*i  (St.  John  XIV,  6) . 
He  and  He  alone,  is  the  golden  bridge  connecting 
Heaven  and  earth;  all  other  means  of  communicat¬ 
ing  with  God  are  of  no  avail. 

Before  His  departure  the  Master  spoke  of  a  second 
medium  of  spiritual  creation  in  the  hearts  of  re¬ 
deemed  mankind,  giving  it  the  glorious  name  of 
Consoler .  And  indeed,  His  followers  have  need  of 
consolation  in  the  form  of  abundant  and  effectual 
help.  The  Saviour  has  never  hitherto  alluded  so  em¬ 
phatically  to  the  persecution  and  oppression  soon  to 
break  over  them  like  a  tempest;  hence  the  loving 
promise  of  the  Divine  Consoler,  who  during  those 
hours  of  suffering  on  Mount  Olivet  and  Golgotha  re¬ 
stores  the  equilibrium  of  storm-tossed  hearts  and 
pours  into  their  burning  wounds  the  soothing  balsam 
of  peace  and  joy;  not  the  peace  of  a  godless  world 
which  knows  only  a  passing,  spurious  calm,  but  the 
true  and  lasting  peace  that  comes  from  the  conscious¬ 
ness  of  union  with  God:  “Peace  I  leave  with  you, 
my  peace  I  give  unto  you,  not  as  the  world  giveth,  do 
I  give  unto  you.”  (St.  John  XIV,  27).  And  closely 
related  to  peace  there  follows  that  sublime  gift  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  the  soul — joy.  It  is  true  that  union 
with  Jesus  implies  a  sharing  in  His  suffering;  but 
even  as  the  sorrow  in  the  Heart  of  Jesus  was  in  the 
end  victoriously  surmounted  by  the  joy  of  the  Resur- 


THE  JOYOUS  SONG  OF  LOVE 


31 


rection,  similarly  and  to  a  greater  degree  there  is  a 
sharing  in  this  joy  in  the  hope  of  eternal  happiness; 
the  possession  of  God  through  grace  is  the  highest 
happiness  that  can  be  attained  in  this  life.  As 
quickly  as  a  mother’s  anguish  gives  place  to  joy  when 
her  child  is  born,  so  quickly,  Christ  tells  them,  the 
immeasurable  suffering  in  the  hearts  of  the  Apostles 
will  be  turned  into  joy  by  the  operation  of  the  Holy 
Ghost;  and  their  joy  will  be  theirs  always.  “Your 
sorrow  shall  be  turned  into  joy.  A  woman,  when  she 
is  in  labor,  hath  sorrow,  because  her  hour  is  come;  but 
when  she  hath  brought  forth  the  child,  she  remember- 
eth  no  more  the  anguish,  for  joy  that  a  man  is  born  into 
the  world.  So  also  you  now  indeed  have  sorrow;  but 
I  will  see  you  again,  and  your  heart  shall  rejoice;  and 
your  joy  no  man  shall  take  from  you.”  (St.  John 
XVI,  20-23).  These  holy  injunctions  laid  by  the 
Lord  on  His  disciples  at  the  hour  of  His  departure 
are  aimed  directly  at  awaking  in  their  hearts  the  de¬ 
sire  for  this  joy  of  the  spirit  that  comes  from  com¬ 
munion  with  God.  The  joy  that  the  Son  of  God 
draws  from  His  relations  with  the  Father  is  inde¬ 
scribably  sweet;  in  the  same  way  the  disciples  should 
find  joy  and  gladness  in  their  intercourse  with  Him: 
“These  things  I  have  spoken  to  you,  that  my  joy  may 
be  in  you,  and  your  joy  may  be  filled.”  (St.  John, 
XV,  11) .  Bound  to  their  Master  by  the  tie  of  grace, 
His  chosen  ones,  even  in  this  life,  live  a  part  of  the 


32 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


life  eternal  that  will  be  revealed  after  death  in  the  joy 
and  glory  of  Heaven;  then  the  sublime  ends  of  the 
Incarnation  and  of  the  sending  of  the  Paraclete  will 
be  attained  in  their  fullness;  then  the  splendor  of  the 
glorified  Godman  will  descend  upon  those  who  are 
united  with  Him  in  grace:  “Father,  I  will  that  where 
I  am,  they  also  whom  thou  hast  given  me  may  be  with 
me;  that  they  may  see  my  glory  which  thou  hast 
given  me,  because  thou  hast  loved  me  before  the  crea¬ 
tion  of  the  world.”  (St.  John,  XVII,  24). 


PART  II 

iWiTH  the  Disciples 


CHAPTER  I 


WITH  THE  PRINCE  OF  THE  APOSTLES 

Having  a  presentiment  that  he  should  soon  die  a 
martyr’s  death,  St.  Peter  wrote  from  prison  during  the 
last  year  of  his  life  two  pontifical  letters  to  the  young 
Christian  communities  in  Asia  Minor.  In  these 
epistles  he  earnestly  warned  them  against  insidious 
heresies  and  implored  them  to  prepare  by  a  blameless 
life  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord.  To  this  spiritual 
testament  of  the  first  Vicar  of  Christ  we  are  indebted 
for  texts  that  are  of  exceedingly  great  importance  for 
the  correct  understanding  of  the  nature  of  grace. 

The  principal  ground  on  which  the  first  pope  bases 
his  exhortation,  is  the  incomprehensibly  great  dignity 
of  the  Christian  calling:  “By  Him  [Christ]  he  hath 
given  us  most  great  and  precious  promises:  that  by 
these  you  may  be  made  partakers  of  the  divine  na¬ 
ture.”  (2  Peter  I,  4).  Like  the  Beloved  Disciple, 
St.  Peter  believes  the  new  divine  life  in  the  soul  of  the 
Christian  to  be  based  on  the  idea  of  a  rebirth: 
64  [You  are]  born  again  not  of  corruptible  seed,  but 
incorruptible,  by  the  word  of  God  who  liveth  and 
remaineth  for  ever.”  (1  Peter  I,  23).  What  does  the 
Apostle  mean  by  “participation  in  the  divine  nature?” 

35 


36 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


In  the  words  of  the  Roman  Catechism,  this  is  “a  qual¬ 
ity  of  the  soul  that  is  like  a  ray  of  light  or  splendor 
which  not  only  effaces  all  the  stains  of  the  soul,  but 
renders  it  brighter  and  more  beautiful  than  ever  be¬ 
fore.”  The  simile  chosen  by  the  Church — that  of  a 
ray  of  sunlight — is  a  significant  one.  Even  as  the 
brightness  of  the  ray  of  light  is  not  the  sun  itself,  yet 
flows  from  it,  and  is  inseparable  from  it,  so,  too,  the 
light  of  grace  in  the  soul  is  an  emanation  of  the  divine 
light,  inseparably  united  with  it.  And  as  the  sun 
every  year  charms  forth  the  warm  spring  of  new  life 
on  earth,  which  sprouts  and  blossoms  afresh,  in  the 
same  way  the  supernatural  ray  of  the  divine  light  of 
grace  brings  forth  a  new  spiritual  spring,  stirring  the 
soul  to  its  uttermost  depths.  A  ray  of  the  Omnipo¬ 
tence  and  the  Wisdom  and  Goodness  of  God  is  shed 
upon  every  created  thing  in  the  universe,  from  the 
glorious  azure  of  the  sky  and  the  majesty  of  the  stars 
to  the  Alpine  sunsets  over  the  glaciers;  in  the  king¬ 
dom  of  lifeless  things,  from  the  simple  blade  of  grass 
to  the  sweet-smelling  pentecostal  rose  in  the  vegetable 
kingdom,  from  the  tiniest  insect  to  the  powerful  lion 
in  the  kingdom  of  beasts;  but  a  specially  pure,  holy 
ray  descends  upon  man,  who  is  the  king  of  creation, 
who,  by  his  knowledge  and  free  will,  towers  above  all 
other  creatures  and  is  a  natural  image  of  the  Creator. 
Through  grace  a  ray  of  the  divine  life  and  light 
enters  his  soul  and  raises  it  high  above  all  the  king- 


WITH  ST.  PETER 


37 

doms  of  nature,  and  far  above  itself.  For,  as  St. 
Peter  writes,  through  grace  man,  partaking  of  the 
Divine  Nature,  is  imbued  with  a  new  and  divine  life, 
— of  which  hitherto  there  was  no  trace  in  him, — a  life 
that  fills  his  soul  and  brings  it  into  a  most  intimate 
communion  with  God. 

Taking  as  their  foundation  the  above  words  of  St. 
Peter,  the  holy  Fathers  of  the  Church,  especially  the 
Greek  Fathers,  such  as  Basil,  Cyril  of  Alexandria, 
Gregory  of  Nazianzus,  and  Athanasius,  extol  in 
boundless  terms  the  graces  accruing  from  the  Incarna¬ 
tion  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  became  a  Child  of  man 
for  no  other  purpose  than  to  watch  over  us  children  of 
men  and  to  make  us  children  of  God  and  His  own 
brothers.  They  make  use  of  all  possible  similes  and 
metaphors  to  demonstrate  the  glorious  mystery  of  the 
Light  of  God  within  us.  Thus  the  great  St.  Athana¬ 
sius  compares  the  Divinity  to  a  seal  that  leaves  its 
impress  on  soft  wax;  and  again  to  balsam  that  im¬ 
parts  its  perfume  to  any  object  that  comes  in  contact 
with  it.  St.  Basil  compares  the  soul  to  black,  cold, 
and  unyielding  iron,  which  when  permeated  with  the 
heat  of  the  fire,  assumes  the  form  of  the  fire  itself, 
becoming  bright,  hot,  and  pliable. 

When  we  come  to  define  more  closely  the  character 
of  the  divine  life  in  us,  we  have  to  avoid  two  heretical 
views,  one  of  which  overestimates  while  the  other 
underestimates  grace.  The  first  error  includes  those 


38 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


systems  which,  confounding  idolatry  with  adoration, 
teach  that  the  human  soul  changes  its  substance  and 
thus  loses  its  identity  in  the  Creator.  This  was  the 
error  of  many  pantheistic  mystics  of  the  Middle  Ages 
and  is  propagated  in  modern  times  by  the  adherents 
of  Theosophy  and  Anthroposophy,  who  convert  the- 
osis  into  apotheosis.  The  Fathers  and  doctors  of  the 
Church  hold  that  man  through  grace,  shares  in  the 
Divine  Nature,  but  not  that  he  becomes  God.  Only 
One  bore  the  human  nature  while  at  the  same  time 
possessing  the  fullness  of  Divinity  because  He 
(Christ)  through  the  Hypostatic  Union  united  in 
His  own  Person  the  divine  and  the  human  natures. 
He  it  is  whom  the  Church  in  her  creed  addresses  as 
God  of  God,  Light  of  Light,  True  God  of  True  God, 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Only-begotten  Son  of  the  Father  and 
the  Son  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary. 

On  the  other  hand  it  implies  an  underestimation  of 
the  divine  origin  and  character  of  sanctifying  grace 
to  assume  that  the  communion  with  God  which  it 
brings  about  is  only  a  kind  of  benevolent  friendship 
and  juridical  adoption  of  man  by  God,  or,  on  the  side 
of  the  Christian  believer,  a  fervent  and  constant  ef¬ 
fort  to  live  as  pure  and  perfect  a  life  as  possible. 
According  to  the  distinct  teaching  of  the  Church,  the 
supernatural  life  of  grace  imparts  a  new,  spiritual 
existence,  not  merely  a  moral  quality,  but  uplifts  the 
creature  into  an  order  of  life  far  transcending  all 


WITH  ST.  PETER 


39 


created  things,  and  therefore  fundamentally  different 
from  a  merely  passing  religious  exaltation,  or  a  high 
ethical  disposition  of  the  mind,  or  a  purely  moral 
union  with  God.  The  Council  of  Trent  announces 
with  infallible  authority  that  sanctifying  grace  inheres 
in  the  soul, — an  expression  which  we  would  have  to 
twist  out  of  its  patent  meaning  were  we  to  regard 
grace  as  anything  else  but  a  special  state  of  the  soul. 
The  historian  of  the  Council  remarks  that  when  the 
wish  was  expressed  to  have  grace  defined  more  exactly 
as  a  true  state  of  the  soul,  the  Fathers  replied  that 
this  was  adequately  expressed  by  the  word  “inhere.” 

St.  Augustine  beautifully  expresses  the  meaning 
of  the  supernatural  life  in  the  following  brief  but 
graphic  phrase:  “It  is  a  twofold  life: — the  one  cor¬ 
poreal,  the  other  spiritual.  But  as  the  soul  is  the  life 
of  the  body,  so  God  is*  the  life  of  the  soul.”  ( Enarr . 
in  Ps.  LXX,  Serm.  2,  N.  3). 

This  elevation  to  the  state  of  divine  nobility  alters 
nothing  in  man’s  nature.  Even  the  Christian  and  the 
perfect  saint  remains  entirely  human./  Grace  does 
not  destroy,  but  ennobles  and  purifies  nature.  Man 
retains  the  inherent  weakness  of  his  nature  and  groans 
under  the  weight  of  concupiscence.]  But  since,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  law  of  reason,  the  flesh  should  be  the 
servant  of  the  spirit,  so  too,  according  to  the  law  of 
God,  the  spirit  must  be  the  servant  of  grace,  by  which 
it  is  guided  towards  God.  “He  that  loves  the  earth 


40 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


is  earthy,”  St.  Augustine  once  remarked.  “He  that 
loves  God, — how  shall  I  express  myself,  my  brethren? 
Nay,  not  I,  but  the  Word  of  God  shall  tell  you, — he 
that  loves  God  becomes  godlike;  for  you  are  gods  and 
the  sons  of  the  Most  High.”  (Tract,  in  Ioa.,  II,  14; 
cfr.,  Serm.9  121,  96,  1).  Nevertheless,  amid  the 
constant  struggle  and  under  the  inspiration  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  a  harmonious  union  develops  between  na¬ 
ture  and  grace,  and  progress  in  the  life  of  grace  spells 
advance  in  the  direction  of  a  purely  natural  ethic; 
while,  conversely,  becoming  purified  from  the  dross 
of  nature  and  striving  to  attain  perfect  humanity  in 
the  natural  sense,  holds  concealed  within  it  advan¬ 
tages  to  the  spiritual  life.  This  fact  disproves  the 
reproach  that  the  life  of  grace  is  hostile  to  culture. 

Notwithstanding  this  close  relation  to  the  natural 
powers  of  the  soul  and  their  activities,  the  supernat¬ 
ural  life,  in  the  eyes  of  the  Apostle,  towers  high  above 
all  that  is  earthly.  For  the  divine  life  has  been  pur¬ 
chased  with  the  precious  Blood  of  Christ.  It  is  as 
though  St.  Peter  took  a  pair  of  scales  and  placed  in 
one  gold  and  precious  stones  and  all  the  splendors 
of  the  earth,  and  in  the  other  the  divine  life  of  grace 
bought  with  the  Blood  of  Christ.  Light  as  air  the 
former  scale  flies  up;  for  to  the  Prince  of  the  Apos¬ 
tles,  material  riches  are  no  standard  with  which  to 
measure  the  riches  of  Heaven:  “Knowing  that  you 
were  not  redeemed  with  corruptible  things  as  gold  or 


WITH  ST.  PETER 


41 


silver,  from  your  vain  conversation  of  the  tradition  of 
your  fathers:  but  with  the  precious  blood  of  Christ, 
as  of  a  lamb  unspotted  and  undefiled.”  (1  Peter, 

I,  18). 

Hence  the  chief  anxiety  of  the  first  shepherd  is  that 
his  young  Christian  flock  should  advance  in  the  new 
divine  life.  The  great  supernatural  gift  of  grace  im¬ 
plies  a  task  no  less  great;  the  unmerited  possession 
of  the  supernatural  life  demands  spotless  conduct. 

In  the  lowest  organisms  two  factors  are  essential  to 
favorable  development — light  and  warmth.  Now,  in 
the  light  of  faith  and  in  the  warmth  of  charity  there  is 
created  in  the  heart  the  atmosphere  in  which  the  new 
life  thrives  best.  Therefore,  the  significant  words  re¬ 
garding  participation  in  the  Divine  Nature  are  pre¬ 
ceded  by  the  Apostolic  exhortation:  to  grow  “in  the 
knowledge  of  Him  who  hath  called  us  by  his  own 
proper  glory  and  virtue.”  (2  Peter  I,  3) .  The  sacred 
writer  here  wisely  refrains  from  using  the  word 
“knowledge  in  its  ordinary  sense,  yv& <ns9  but  rather 
employs  the  nobler  word  MyvQxn^  to  indicate  his 
earnest  desire  that  the  faithful  should  become  more 
and  more  impregnated  with  the  holy  mysteries,  view¬ 
ing  more  and  more  clearly  their  inner  relation  to 
one  another,  and,  embracing  them  joyously,  make 
of  them  a  sovereign  and  transforming  principle  of 
their  natural  life.  Such  a  lively  faith  will  become 
the  fountain-head  of  a  joy  that  will  conquer  the 


42 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


world.  “ Jesus  Christ,  whom  having  not  seen,  you 
love;  in  whom  also  now,  though  you  see  him  not,  you 
believe  and  believing  shall  rejoice  with  joy  unspeak¬ 
able  and  glorified;  receiving  the  end  of  your  faith, 
even  the  salvation  of  your  souls.  Of  which  salvation 
the  prophets  have  inquired  and  diligently  searched, 
who  prophesied  of  the  grace  to  come  in  you.” 
(1  Peter  I,  8-10). 

Such  faith  is  the  eye  of  the  soul  endowed  with 
grace,  which  in  this  life  penetrates, — as  through  a 
veil,  it  is  true, — the  glory  of  Heaven.  If  the  eye 
were  not  sun-like,  it  could  never  look  upon  the  sun; 
if  the  strength  of  grace  were  not  in  us,  how  could  the 
things  of  Heaven  delight  us?  Through  faith  we  are 
preserved  for  a  happiness  that  will  be  manifested  on 
the  Last  Day  at  the  coming  of  the  Lord;  through  faith 
we  have  the  hope  of  an  incorruptible,  undefiled  in¬ 
heritance  that  cannot  fade,  reserved  for  us  in  Heaven. 
(1  Peter  I,  4,  5). 

Every  form  of  life  upon  the  earth  demands  a  con¬ 
voy  of  strength  in  the  form  of  nourishment;  it  is 
similar  with  the  supernatural  life  of  grace.  St.  Peter 
calls  it  the  spiritual  milk  that  we  should  desire  “as 
newborn  babes  desire  the  rational  milk  without 
guile,”  that  thereby  we  “may  grow  unto  salvation.” 
(1  Peter,  II,  2,  3).  If  this  refers  first  of  all  to  the 
whole  economy  of  salvation,  as  it  operates  in  sermons 


WITH  ST.  PETER 


43 


and  in  the  spirit  of  prayer  of  the  young  congregation, 
the  notion  of  “food  for  the  soul”  can  nevertheless  be 
taken  in  a  narrower  sense  and  is  taken  by  some 
Doctors  of  the  Church  to  mean  the  Eucharistic  Ban¬ 
quet, — all  the  more  because  in  the  time  of  the  Apos¬ 
tles  the  Blessed  Eucharist  was  always  given  on  the 
occasion  of  Baptism.  The  chief  shepherd  must  have 
had  before  his  mind  that  glorious  promise  of  the 
Master  made  in  the  Synagogue  of  Capharnaum,  when 
in  the  name  of  his  fellow- Apostles  he  crowned  the 
Word  of  God  regarding  the  Divine  Food  by  a  fervent 
profession  of  faith.  Through  this  sweetest  and  most 
wonderful  of  all  mysteries  the  Christian  enters  into  a 
true,  corporal  union  with  his  God;  when  he  partakes 
of  this  holy  nourishment,  the  Sacred  Blood  of  Christ 
flows  like  a  stream  of  fire  through  the  veins  of  the 
soul,  in  order  to  raise  it  to  a  unity  with  the  divine  life; 
for,  as  St.  Augustine  so  profoundly  says,  we  do  not 
change  this  Food  into  our  substance,  as  we  do  ordi¬ 
nary  food,  but  rather  this  Divine  Food  changes  us  into 
itself;  no  other  mystery  includes  all  the  mysteries  of 
the  Incarnation,  and  the  Redemption,  the  Resurrec¬ 
tion  and  the  Divine  Glory,  as  well  as  the  eternal  high 
priesthood  in  one  focus  as  does  this  mystery  of  the 
Blessed  Eucharist;  nowhere  does  the  soul  feel  the 
truth  of  St.  Peter’s  words  so  keenly  as  she  does  here. 

But  Peter  would  not  be  the  rock  and  the  chief  shep- 


44 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


herd  if  his  concern  for  advance  in  the  divine  life 
extended  to  a  few  faithful  Christians  only.  His 
thoughts  regarding  the  effects  of  grace  broaden  his 
Apostolic  heart,  his  eye  penetrates  into  the  most  dis¬ 
tant  lands  and  times.  He  sees  the  divine  life  of  in¬ 
numerable  souls  organically  united  into  one  common 
life;  he  sees,  too,  rising  up  over  the  whole  world,  the 
divine  structure  of  the  great,  holy  Church,  of  which 
Christ  is  the  Foundation  and  the  Cornerstone.  The 
lesson  that  Christ  impressed  on  His  followers  when 
he  bade  them  farewell  before  His  Passion,  speaking 
to  them  of  the  Vine  and  its  branches;  the  lesson  in¬ 
culcated  by  St.  Paul  in  his  simile  of  the  body  and  its 
members ; — the  same  Catholic  thought  is  expressed  by 
St.  Peter  in  his  metaphor  of  the  building  of  the  House 
of  God.  The  stones  of  this  temple  are  those  who, 
quickened  by  grace,  build  themselves  on  Christ. 
Through  Him  they  offer  spiritual  sacrifices  in  the 
new  temple;  they  are  a  kingly  priesthood,  a  chosen 

race,  a  holy  people,  because  from  the  Eucharistic 

* 

sacrifice  within  this  spiritual  temple,  unction,  sancti¬ 
fication  and  consecration  flow  upon  all  who  are  in¬ 
serted  as  living  stones  of  this  temple.  “Unto  whom 
coming,  as  to  a  living  stone,  rejected  indeed  by  men, 
but  chosen  and  made  honorable  by  God:  be  you  also 
living  stones  built  up,  a  spiritual  house,  a  holy  priest¬ 
hood,  to  offer  up  spiritual  sacrifices,  acceptable  to 


WITH  ST.  PETER 


45 


God  by  Jesus  Christ.  .  .  .  But  you  are  a  chosen  gen¬ 
eration,  a  kingly  priesthood,  a  holy  nation,  a  pur¬ 
chased  people:  that  you  may  declare  his  virtues,  who 
hath  called  you  out  of  darkness  into  his  marvellous 
light.”  (1  Peter  II,  4-9). 


CHAPTER  II 


WITH  THE  BELOVED  DISCIPLE 

St.  Augustine  in  his  exposition  of  the  Gospel  of 
St.  John  refers  to  its  author  as  the  theologian  among 
the  Apostles  and  the  Eagle  among  the  Evangelists. 
Clement  of  Alexandria  calls  this  the  inspired  Gospel 
and  Paulinus  of  Nola  honors  it  with  the  title  of  “the 
crown  and  key  of  evangelistic  literature/’  Even 
modern  writers  designate  it  as  the  most  wonderful  of 
all  religious  books.  The  chief  cause  of  the  pre¬ 
eminence  of  the  last  Gospel  over  the  Synoptics  is  that 
it  is  permeated  by  a  deep  fervor  and  great  love  of 
Christ.  St.  John  paints  the  figure  of  Christ  in  strong, 
luminous  colors  and  shows  the  glory  of  His  Divinity 
in  a  more  brilliant  light  than  the  other  Evangelists; 
he  gives  us  most  of  the  words  spoken  by  Jesus,  espe¬ 
cially  those  revealing  the  most  intimate  and  sublime 
mysteries  of  the  soul.  John  was  the  “Beloved  Dis¬ 
ciple,”  who  leaned  on  the  Breast  of  the  Master  and 
who  bore,  deeply  and  indelibly  engraved  on  his  con¬ 
templative  soul,  every  word  that  came  forth  from 
the  divine  lips;  while  at  the  same  time  his  intimacy 
with  the  Virgin  Mother — whose  adopted  son  he  be¬ 
came  when  Christ  decreed  it  from  the  Cross — gave 

46 


WITH  THE  BELOVED  DISCIPLE  47 

him  a  deeper  insight  into  the  mysteries  of  the  inner- 
divine  life  and  especially  into  the  mystery  of  the  In¬ 
carnation.  To  his  prolific  pen  we  owe,  in  a  certain 
sense,  a  terminology  in  which  is  condensed  all  that, 
through  abundant  graces,  St.  John  has  himself  felt 
and  experienced. 

To  be  born  again  from  God.  Like  Nicodemus, 
John,  top,  may  at  first  have  found  these  words  enig¬ 
matical;  but  the  weighty,  significant  thought  under¬ 
lying  this  phrase  never  left  his  mind  again.  Rising 
eagle-like,  at  the  beginning  of  his  Gospel,  to  the  ce¬ 
lestial  heights  of  the  inner-divine  life,  he  joins  to  the 
great  idea  of  the  divine  procreation  that  of  the  crea¬ 
tion  of  grace  in  the  human  heart.  The  Christian 
born  again  in  Christ,  in  a  higher,  godlike  spirituality, 
through  grace  becomes  a  son  of  the  Heavenly  Father 
and  a  brother  of  Christ,  that  Ire  also,  like  Christ,  may 
be  dependent  on  the  Father  in  true,  childlike  love, 
suffused  with  His  light,  and  inflamed  with  His  char¬ 
ity.  The  actual  purpose  of  the  Incarnation  was  to 
impart  this  new  divine  life  to  us:  “God  became 
man  in  order  that  man  might  become  like  unto  God,” 
is  a  regular  text  of  the  Fathers.  His  life  “was  the 
light  of  men.  And  the  light  shineth  in  darkness,  and 
the  darkness  did  not  comprehend  it.  .  .  .  That  was 
the  true  light,  which  enlighteneth  every  man  that 
cometh  into  this  world.  He  was  in  the  world,  and 
the  world  was  made  by  him,  and  the  world  knew  him 


48 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 

not.  .  .  .  But  as  many  as  received  him,  he  gave  them 
power  to  be  made  the  sons  of  God,  to  them  that  be¬ 
lieve  in  his  name,  who  are  born,  not  of  blood,  nor  of 
the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of 
God.  And  the  Word  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt 
among  us,  and  we  saw  his  glory,  the  glory  as  it  were 
of  the  Only-begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and 
truth.”  (John  I,  4-14). 

Thus  it  is  that  you,  0  Christian  soul,  through  being 
born  again  in  grace,  have  been  raised  up  far  above 
all  possible  material  gifts  and  rejoice  in  the  inde¬ 
scribable  privilege  of  being  made  a  new  creature  of  a 
higher  kind.  To  describe  this  wonderful  elevation 
of  the  soul  to  a  new  state  there  is  no  better  illustra¬ 
tion  than  that  of  the  physical  birth  of  man.  Even  as 
he  receives  at  his  physical  birth  the  conditions  neces¬ 
sary  for  his  natural  existence  and  life,  so  the  soul  at 
its  supernatural  rebirth  receives  a  spiritual,  god¬ 
like  nature,  by  means  of  which  the  Christian  becomes 
a  new,  supernatural  being;  and  like  physical  birth, 
so  also  spiritual  birth,  is  preceded  by  fear  and  re¬ 
morse.  Further,  as  man  retains  his  natural  exis¬ 
tence  until  death,  so,  too,  the  divine  life  imparted  to 
the  soul  at  its  rebirth  is  not  transitory,  but  for  all  time; 
that  is,  unless  spiritual  death  occurs  through  mortal 
sin.  “His  seed”  [that  is,  His  grace]  “abideth  in 
him.”  (1  John  III,  9).  St.  Augustine,  the  great 
authority  on  grace,  beautifully  characterises  by  a 


WITH  THE  BELOVED  DISCIPLE 


49 


sharp  antithesis  the  natural  and  the  supernatural 
birth  of  man:  “The  one  birth  is  of  the  earth,  the 
other,  of  Heaven;  the  one  is  of  the  flesh,  the  other, 
of  the  Spirit;  the  one  springs  from  mortality,  the 
other  from  eternity;  the  one  comes  from  man  and 
woman,  the  other  from  God  and  the  Church.” 
( Tract .  in  Ioa.,  XI,  n.  6). 

The  relation  to  God  of  the  merely  natural  man, 
outside  the  state  of  grace,  is  that  of  a  slave  to  his 
master.  But  however  cordial  we  may  imagine  such 
a  relation  to  be,  it  can  never  be  compared  to  the  sweet 
and  intimate  bond  that  unites  father  and  son.  And 
however  kindly  we  may  imagine  the  sovereignty  of 
God  watching  over  His  creature,  yet  very  different  is 
the  gentleness  of  a  father  towards  his  child  and  that 
of  God  towards  him  whom  He  has  adopted  as  His 
own.  All  servile  fear  is  excluded  from  this  tender 
relationship,  for  “fear  is  not  in  charity,  but  perfect 
charity  casteth  out  fear.”  (1  John,  IV,  18).  “Be¬ 
hold,  what  manner  of  charity  the  Father  hath  bestowed 
upon  us,  that  we  should  be  called,  and  should  be  the 
sons  of  God.  ...  We  are  now  the  sons  of  God;  and 
it  hath  not  yet  appeared  what  we  shall  be.”  (1  John 
III,  1-2).  Such  is  the  joyous  cry  of  the  Beloved 
Apostle  when  he  reminds  his  disciples  of  their  sub¬ 
lime  calling. 

But  this  rebirth  in  God  must  not  be  understood  as 
if  the  natural  powers  of  man’s  mind  had  been  altered, 


50 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


as  if  his  intelligence  had  become  keener,  or  the  im¬ 
pulses  of  his  will  stronger.  Grace  never  destroys 
nature,  but  always  builds  on  the  existing  capacity  of 
a  man’s  mind.  The  spirit  of  the  Christian  believer 
living  in  the  state  of  grace  becomes  new, — not,  how¬ 
ever,  in  the  sense  of  a  new  higher  moral  conduct,  but 
in  the  sense  of  an  entirely  new  order  of  life  and  a  di- 
vine  principle  of  life.  The  children  of  God  in  the 
natural  conduct  of  their  lives  are  like  other  men, 
subject  to  the  same  sufferings  and  frailties;  in  their 
case,  too,  the  outer  man  becomes  dissolved  more  and 
more  from  day  to  day,  but  the  inner  man  is  renewed 
and  changed  through  the  Spirit  of  God  until  that 
which  is  mortal  is  absorbed  by  immortality. 

This  divine  life  within  us  is  such  a  precious  and 
tender  mystery  of  faith  in  the  eyes  of  the  Beloved 
Disciple  that  he  never  tires  of  referring  to  it  in  his 
letters;  this  sweet  revelation  has  become  with  him 
the  ruling  factor  of  his  Apostolic  life  and  works,  the 
inspired  theme  of  his  sermons  and  written  instruc¬ 
tions.  The  object  and  the  motive  of  his  love  is  God 
alone  because  of  his  spiritual  relationship  of  child 
to  father.  “Everyone  that  loveth  him  who  begot, 
loveth  him  also  who  is  bom  of  him.”  (1  John  V,  I). 
“Let  us  love  one  another,  for  charity  is  of  God.  And 
everyone  that  loveth,  is  born  of  God,  and  knoweth 
God.  He  that  loveth  not,  knoweth  not  God:  for  God 
is  charity.”  (1  John  IV,  7-8). 


WITH  THE  BELOVED  DISCIPLE 


51 


It  is  for  this  reason  that  St.  John  impresses  most 
earnestly  on  his  flock  the  duty  of  always  preserving 
intact  their  faith,  the  foundation  of  the  divine  struc¬ 
ture  of  grace.  With  faith  “we  have  passed  from 
death  to  life.”  (1  John  III,  14).  And  “He  that 
hath  not  the  Son,  hath  not  life.”  (1  John  V,  12). 
“Let  that  which  you  have  heard  from  the  beginning, 
abide  in  you.  If  that  abide  in  you,  which  you  have 
heard  from  the  beginning,  you  also  shall  abide  in  the 
Son,  and  in  the  Father.”  (1  John  II,  24). 

But  if  the  inner  life  is  to  be  a  lasting  one,  then 
the  outer  life  also  must  gradually  be  formed  after  the 
life  of  the  Lord:  His  Truth  must  become  ours,  His 
life  must  become  ours,  His  way  must  become  our 
way.  “He  that  saith  he  abideth  in  him,  ought  him¬ 
self  also  to  walk,  even  as  He  walked.”  (1  John 

II,  6). 

The  Apostle’s  chief  care  was  that  the  Christian 
believer  should  never  forfeit  the  loving  union  with 
Christ  through  sin, — especially  through  sins  against 
charity.  This  warning  forms  the  cardinal  point  of 
his  whole  moral  teaching.  “Whosoever  hateth  his 
brother  is  a  murderer.  And  you  know  that  no  mur¬ 
derer  hath  eternal  life  abiding  in  himself.” 
(1  John  III,  15).  A  grievous  sin  committed  in  the 
state  of  grace  appears  to  him  so  monstrous,  so  great 
a  contradiction  that  he  can  find  no  words  with  which 
to  express  it.  He  who,  while  a  true  child  of  God, 


52 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


/ 

sins  grievously,  has  not  yet  thoroughly  understood 
the  sublime  dignity  of  the  Christian;  he  has  never  yet 
looked  into  the  depths  of  his  soul;  otherwise  he  could 
not  turn  away  from  the  Archetype  of  all  that  is  good 
and  beautiful.  “Whosoever  abideth  in  him,  sinneth 
not;  and  whosoever  sinneth,  hath  not  seen  him,  nor 
known  him.”  (1  John  III,  6).  Again  he  describes 
how  the  world  can  be  overcome  by  him  who  is  in 
communion  with  Christ:  “We  know  that  whosoever 
is  born  of  God  sinneth  not;  but  the  generation  of  God 
preserveth  him.”  (1  John  V,  18).  It  is  true  that  in 
the  child  of  God,  too,  the  struggle  between  the  flesh 
and  the  spirit  rages,  that  even  into  the  paradise  of  his 
heart  the  living  serpent  of  temptation  finds  its  way, 
even  as  it  approached  the  innocence  of  the  first  man 
and  woman  in  the  Garden  of  Eden;  and  that  it  often 
departs  victorious  also  from  the  heart  of  this  child  of 
God.  But  what  the  Apostle  demands  is  that  he  who 
has  been  born  again  through  grace  should  resist  with 
all  the  power  of  his  will  the  sundering  of  the  bond 
that  unites  him  to  God.  From  his  writings  can  be 
seen  the  sunny  heights  of  striving  after  Christian  per¬ 
fection  to  which  the  Apostle  was  led  by  his  profound 
conception  of  the  dignity  of  grace. 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  child  of  God  looks  for¬ 
ward  with  hope  and  trust  to  the  day  of  eternity,  with¬ 
out  fear  or  dread  in  his  heart.  “In  this  is  the  char¬ 
ity  of  God  perfected  with  us,  that  we  may  have  confi- 


53 


WITH  THE  BELOVED  DISCIPLE 

dence  in  the  day  of  judgment;  because  as  he  is,  we 
also  are  in  this  world.”  (1  John  IV,  17).  Accord¬ 
ing  to  St.  John’s  interpretation,  the  true  life  may 
come  before  the  return  of  the  Lord;  for  through  his 
adoption  by  God  the  child  of  grace  has  passed  from 
death  to  life.  Communion  with  God  through  grace  is 
nothing  else  but  the  germ  of  happiness;  and  eternal 
life  in  the  next  world  is  the  bud  of  grace  that  has  burst 
into  blossom  and  the  blossom  ripened  into  fruit. 
Gloria  est  gratia  consummala — glory  is  the  perfec¬ 
tion  of  grace — is  an  axiom  in  theology;  or,  as  the 
Prince  of  Scholastics  expresses  it,  “gratia  nihil  aliud 
est  quam  quaedam  inchoatio  gloriae  in  nobis;9 
Grace  is,  as  it  were,  the  seed  of  glory  within  us. 
(St.  Thomas,  2a  2ae,  qu.  24,  art.  3,  ad  2).  As  the 
stream  of  sin  flows  into  death,  so  the  stream  of  grace 
flows  into  eternal  life. 

When  the  holy  seer  of  Patmos  speaks  of  the  state 
of  perfection  in  the  next  life,  his  language  is  per¬ 
meated  by  an  entrancing  beauty  and  an  eloquence  that 
is  truly  sublime.  These  passages  of  his  belong  to 
the  choicest  gems  of  mysticism,  and  sparkle  with 
brilliant  colors  of  the  most  varied  imagery;  yet  his 
language  lags  far  behind  the  true,  ardent  perception 
of  the  saintly  writer;  for  here  also  transitory  things 
are  but  an  image  of  the  reality.  In  the  Book  of  Life 
he  sees,  in  letters  of  flaming  gold,  the  names  of  all 
those  that  were  called  and  chosen  (Apoc.  XIII,  8), 


54 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


and  over  the  heads  of  the  children  of  God  he  sees  the 
glorious  crown  of  life  that  has  blossomed  forth  from 
the  grace  that  was  given  them  whilst  on  earth  (Apoc. 
II,  10).  From  its  source  at  the  throne  of  the  Lamb, 
the  Water  of  Life  flows  to  them,  like  a  luminous 
mountain  stream,  disappearing  in  the  sea  of  eter¬ 
nity;  the  Tree  of  Life  abounds  in  the  richest  fruit, 
tendering  its  sweet,  ripe  gifts  (Apoc.  II,  7;  XXII,  2) ; 
the  dim  light  of  faith  has  become  a  ray  of  dazzling 
glory,  in  whose  flaming  refulgence  the  transfigured 
soul  perceives  the  indescribable  bliss  of  Heaven,  for 
the  City  of  God  has  need  of  neither  the  sun  nor  the 
moon,  because  God’s  glory  shines  there  and  its  lamp 
is  the  Lamb  (Apoc.  XXI,  23),  and  the  love  of  the 
bride  of  Christ  in  this  life  will  there  be  made  perfect 
and  will  be  absorbed  by  the  joy  of  the  marriage  feast 
in  Heaven.  Joyous  songs  never  heard  on  earth,  re¬ 
sound  through  the  eternal  mansions :  “Let  us  rejoice ; 
for  it  is  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb  and  his  bride  has 
adorned  herself.”  And  a  voice  spoke  to  me: 
“Write,  Blessed  are  they  that  are  invited  to  the  mar¬ 
riage-feast  of  the  Lamb!  And  the  Spirit  and  the 
bride  say:  Come!  And  he  that  heareth,  let  him 
say:  Come.  And  he  that  thirsteth,  let  him  come 
.  ...  He  that  giveth  testimony  of  these  things,  saith, 
Surely  I  come  quickly.  Amen.  Come,  Lord  Jesus.” 
(Apoc.  XXII). 


CHAPTER  III 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS 


From  Death  to  Life 


The  richest  and  most  profound  elucidation  of  the 
divine  life  in  the  heart  of  the  Christian  is  given  us  by 
the  Apostle  who  felt  the  operation  of  grace  most 
efficaciously  in  his  own  soul.  While  the  other  disci¬ 
ples  of  the  Lord  were  initiated  into  the  mysteries  of 
the  Cross  gradually,  it  was  the  work  of  an  hour  with 
St.  Paul, — the  great  hour  of  Damascus.  This  sudden 
and  direct  rupture  with  a  past  that  held  many  cher¬ 
ished  traditions  and  valued  precepts  placed  him  sud¬ 
denly  in  a  completely  new,  religious  world,  and 
caused  him  to  go  into  the  depths  of  the  knowledge 
and  greatness  of  God,  so  that  he  was  best  fitted  to  de¬ 
scribe  “the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ”  and  “the 
manifold  wisdom  of  God.”  (Eph.  Ill,  8,  10). 
He  had  penetrated  more  deeply  than  his  fellow- 
workers  into  the  abyss  of  misery  caused  by  sin  among 
the  pagan  nations.  While  his  idea  of  the  Divine  Life 
in  us  agrees  fundamentally  with  the  teaching  of  the 

55 


56 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


other  Apostles,  yet  his  views  bear  a  coloring  and  a 
stamp  peculiar  to  themselves. 

While  in  St.  John’s  world  of  thought  the  positive 
idea  of  rebirth  in  God  is  the  more  apparent,  we  find 
that  with  the  Apostle  of  Nations  this  positive  idea 
gives  place  rather  to  the  negative  element  in  the  con¬ 
cept  of  justification .  This  forms  the  subject  of  his 
noble  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  and  the  following  words 
from  this  Epistle  have  passed  into  the  dogmatic  ter¬ 
minology  of  the  Church:  “Ex  peccatoribus  iustos 
fieri — out  of  sinners  they  shall  be  made  just.”  (Rom. 
V,  19). 

This  process  of  justification  includes  a  twofold  ac¬ 
tion  on  the  part  of  God — the  forgiveness  of  isin  and 
interior  sanctification.  The  former  is  expressed  by 
St.  Paul  in  his  simile  of  putting  off  the  old  man: 
“To  put  off,  according  to  former  conversation,  the  old 
man,  who  is  corrupted  according  to  the  desire  of 
error.”  (Eph.  IV,  22).  “Strip  yourselves  of  the 
old  man  with  his  deeds.”  (Col.  Ill,  9).  This  act  he 
regards  as  identical  with  the  mystic  death  of  the 
sinner,  which  he  finds  symbolized  in  the  immersion 
of  Baptism,  which  recalls  the  descent  into  the  grave. 
Christ’s  death  on  the  Cross  and  the  mystic  death  of  the 
redeemed  sinner  are  correlative  notions;  for  the  for¬ 
mer  established  the  work  of  grace,  while  the  latter 
applied  it  to  the  Christian’s  behavior.  In  the  sixth 
chapter  of  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans  the  Apostle 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  57 

develops  this  parallel  along  broad  lines:  “We  that 
are  dead  to  sin,  how  shall  we  live  any  longer  therein? 
Know  you  not  that  all  we,  who  are  baptised  in  Christ 
Jesus,  are  baptised  in  his  death?  For  we  are  buried 
together  with  him  by  baptism  into  death.  .  .  .  Know¬ 
ing  this,  that  our  old  man  is  crucified  with  him,  that 
the  body  of  sin  may  be  destroyed,  to  the  end  that  we 
may  serve  sin  no  longer.  For  he  that  is  dead  is 
justified  from  sin.”  (Rom.  VI,  2-7). 

Side  by  side  with  this  negative  idea  of  the  forgive¬ 
ness  of  sin  St.  Paul  places  the  positive  idea  of  interior 
sanctification  or  transformation  through  sanctifying 
grace.  The  mystic  death  of  the  soul  means  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  a  new,  divine  life  or  the  transfer  to  a  new 
state  in  life.  To  St.  Paul  these  two  ideas  are  in¬ 
separable;  he  never  speaks  of  laying  aside  the  old 
man,  without  in  the  same  breath  reminding  his  hear¬ 
ers  of  the  necessity  of  putting  on  the  new  man:  “Be 
renewed  in  the  spirit  of  your  mind:  and  put  on  the 
new  man,  who  according  to  God  is  created  in  justice 
and  holiness  of  truth.”  (Eph.  IV,  23-24).  “Put¬ 
ting  on  the  new,  him  who  is  renewed  unto  knowledge, 
according  to  the  image  of  him  that  created  him.” 
(Col.  Ill,  10).  And  as  he  sees  the  mystic  death 
fore-shadowed  in  the  death  of  the  Godman,  so  he  sees 
the  new  life  prefigured  in  the  divine,  glorified  life 
of  the  risen  Christ;  in  this  way  the  Christian  believer 
becomes  completely  incorporated  with  Christ.  “For 


58 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


we  are  buried  together  with  him  by  baptism  into 
death;  that  as  Christ  is  risen  from  the  dead  by  the 
glory  of  the  Father,  so  we  also  may  walk  in  newness 
of  life.  .  .  .  Now  if  we  be  dead  with  Christ,  we  be¬ 
lieve  that  we  shall  live  also  together  with  Christ,  know¬ 
ing  that  Christ  rising  again  from  the  dead,  dieth  now 
no  more,  death  shall  no  more  have  dominion  over 
him.  For  in  that  he  died  to  sin,  he  died  once;  but 
in  that  he  liveth,  he  liveth  unto  God:  So  do  you  also 
reckon,  that  you  are  dead  to  sin,  but  alive  unto  God,  in 
Christ  Jesus  our  lord.”  (Rom.  VI,  4,  8-11). 

The  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  in  his  epistles  makes 
use  of  numerous  similes  to  illustrate  clearlv  the  exis- 
tence  and  nature  of  the  divine  life  in  the  heart  of  the 
Christian.  Justification  he  calls  a  new  creation  be¬ 
cause  it  lends  a  new  kind  of  existence  to  man.  “If 
then  any  be  in  Christ  a  new  creature,  the  old  things 
are  passed  away,  behold  all  things  are  made  new.” 
(2  Cor.  V,  17).  The  whole  spiritual  life  of  the  re¬ 
deemed  sinner  is  thus  put  on  an  entirely  new  basis, — 
on  a  divine  foundation..  Again,  he  compares  the 
faithful  to  a  letter  of  recommendation  because  they 
bear  upon  them  the  imprint  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  “Be¬ 
ing  manifested,  that  you  are  the  epistle  of  Christ, 
ministered  by  us,  and  written  not  with  ink  but  with 
the  spirit  of  the  living  God.”  (2  Cor.  Ill,  3). 

On  more  than  one  occasion  St.  Paul  speaks  of  the 
stamp  or  seal  of  the  Holy  Ghost ,  which  makes  a  new 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  59 

impression  on  the  soul.  Man,  already  belonging  to 
God,  becomes  His  property  in  a  still  higher  degree  by 
justification,  through  which  he  receives  a  new  form  of 
being.  Upon  those  who  are  reborn  through  bap¬ 
tism,  the  Lord  imprints  a  seal  as  a  sign  of  His  sover¬ 
eignty,  an  image  of  His  splendor,  and  a  pledge  and 
foretaste  of  the  life  to  come.  “He  that  confirmeth 
us  with  you  in  Christ,  and  that  hath  anointed  us,  is 
God,  who  also  hath  sealed  us,  and  given  the  pledge  of 
the  Spirit  in  our  hearts.”  (2  Cor.  I,  21).  “Be¬ 
lieving  [in  the  Gospel]  you  were  signed  with  the 
holy  Spirit  of  promise,  who  is  the  pledge  of  our  in¬ 
heritance.”  (Eph.  I,  13  sq.).  This  is  a  favorite 
simile  with  the  Apostle,  which  passed  into  general 
use  in  the  first  centuries.  Thus  the  holy  bishop  and 
martyr,  Ignatius  of  Antioch,  writes  that  men  are  to 
be  compared  to  two  coinages — the  one  of  God,  the 
other  of  the  world.  Each  has  its  own  stamp  im¬ 
pressed  on  it;  the  unbelievers  bear  the  stamp  of  this 
world  and  the  believers  the  stamp  of  God  the  Father 
in  love  through  Jesus  Christ.  ( Ad  Magn.,  V,  2). 

Another  favorite  illustration  of  the  Apostle  is  light. 
As  dark  night  is  compared  with  the  noonday  sun,  so 
is  the  state  of  man  before  justification  compared  with 
his  state  after  he  has  been  newly  fashioned  in  Christ. 
And  as  nothing  can  live  in  regions  where  there  is 
no  light,  so  also,  where  there  is  spiritual  dark¬ 
ness,  nothing  holy  or  heavenly  can  thrive.  New 


60 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


life  stirs  in  regions  where  there  is  material  light; 
and  where  the  light  of  grace  abounds  there  will 
blossom  forth  and  mature  a  life  that  is  turned  to¬ 
wards  God,  with  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 
“You  were  heretofore  darkness,  but  now  light  in  the 
Lord.  Walk  then  as  children  of  the  light.”  (Eph. 
V,  8).  “Rise  thou  that  sleepest,  and  arise  from  the 
dead;  and  Christ  shall  enlighten  thee.”  (Eph.  V, 
14).  St.  Paul  calls  those  who  have  been  baptised 
simply  “illuminated”  (Hebr.  VI,  4),  because  to  him 
purely  natural  understanding  bears  the  same  relation 
to  understanding  by  faith  that  darkness  bears  to  light. 
(That  we  are  to  understand  by  the  word  “light”  super¬ 
natural  knowledge  is  clearly  emphasized  by  Maldon- 
atus,  who  explains  that  no  passage  can  be  produced 
from  Holy  Scripture  showing  “lux”  or  “lumen”  to 
indicate  the  natural  light  of  reason ;  Comment  in  Ioa,, 
I,  4).  The  use  of  “light”  to  illustrate  the  super¬ 
natural  life  of  the  soul  was  so  familiar  to  the  early 
Christians  that  Baptism,  the  Sacrament  of  regenera¬ 
tion,  was  called  simply  £omo-  =  enlightenment;  and 
the  Church  has  received  this  pregnant  idea  into  her 
liturgy  and  maintained  it  through  all  the  centuries. 
Even  to-day  the  custom  prevails  on  Holy  Thursday  of 
placing  the  lighted  Easter  candle  in  the  baptismal 
water,  so  that  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  may  render 
it  effective  for  the  regeneration  of  sinners;  further¬ 
more  those  who  at  Baptism  are  reborn  as  the  children 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  61 


of  light,  receive  the  burning  candle,  with  the  exhor¬ 
tation  to  preserve  their  baptismal  innocence  intact 
throughout  life. 

The  life  of  the  justified  is  to  the  Apostle  simply 
“the  life,”  so  that  it  is  often  not  clear  whether  he 
means  by  it  the  state  of  grace  in  this  life  or  life  in  the 
world  to  come.  Both,  as  we  have  seen,  are  essenti¬ 
ally  the  same,  differing  only  in  degree,  as  the  fruit 
differs  from  the  blossom.  “But  God  (who  is  rich  in 
mercy)  for  His  exceeding  charity  wherewith  He  loved 
us,  even  when  we  were  dead  in  sins,  hath  quickened 
us  together  in  Christ.”  (Eph.  II,  4  sq.).  Thus,  ac¬ 
cording  to  him,  “to  live  is  Christ,”  (Phil.  I,  21) ; 
that  is,  Christ  is  the  supernatural  principle  of  life,  its 
content  and  motive,  as  well  as  its  final  goal.  In  his 
Epistle  to  the  Colossians  (III,  4)  he  briefly  designates 
Christ  as  the  life  of  those  who  have  arisen  with  Him: 
“When  Christ  shall  appear,  who  is  your  life,  then 
you  also  shall  appear  with  him  in  glory.”  The  pres¬ 
ence  of  Christ  is  multiplied  in  the  faithful  through 
the  Holy  Ghost;  hence  life  in  Christ  is  life  in  the 
Spirit.  “If  we  live  in  the  Spirit,  let  us  also  walk 
in  the  Spirit.”  (Gal.  V,  25).  The  concept  of  life 
governed  the  early  Christian  world  of  thought  to  such 
an  extent  that  the  Christians  called  themselves  simply 
ol  “the  living,”  in  contradistinction  to  the 

pagans,  who  were  spiritually  dead  in  the  eyes  of 
God.  (Dolger,  Ichthys,  Rome,  1910,  p.  168). 


62 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


The  intimacy  of  the  mutual  relationship  that  exists 
between  God  and  the  soul  of  man  through  sanctifying 
grace,  is  beyond  the  power  of  human  understanding, 
nor  can  it  be  fully  described  in  human  language;  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  mystics,  any  attempt  to  penetrate  the 
relations  of  God  of  the  soul  endowed  with  sanctifying 
grace,  can  be  but  a  feeble  attempt  that  lags  far  be¬ 
hind  the  reality.  According  to  the  Apostle,  the  bond 
of  grace  that  unites  the  soul  with  the  Most  Holy 
Trinity  shines  forth  in  a  threefold  light: 

1.  In  regard  to  God  the  Father,  it  is  the  most  tender 
filial  relationship; 

2.  In  regard  to  God  the  Son,  it  is  a  most  fervent 
mysticism; 

3.  In  regard  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  is  a  new  spiritual 
or  pneumatic  life. 


§2 


Mans  Filial  Relationship  to  God 

The  natural  consequence  of  being  reborn  in  God  is 
the  most  precious  of  all  relationships — that  of  child 
to  Father.  To  the  same  extent  that  grace  is  higher 
than  nature,  the  state  of  a  child  of  God  is  superior  to 
the  servile  state  of  other  creatures  towards  the 
Creator.  “Whosoever  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
they  are  the  sons  of  God.  For  you  have  not  received 
the  spirit  of  bondage  again  in  fear;  but  you  have  re- 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  63 


ceived  the  spirit  of  adoption  of  sons,  whereby  we  cry, 
Abba  (Father).  For  the  Spirit  himself  giveth  testi¬ 
mony  to  our  spirit,  that  we  are  the  sons  of  God.  And 
if  sons,  heirs  also;  heirs  indeed  of  God,  and  joint 
heirs  with  Christ.”  (Rom.  VIII,  14-17).  “And 
because  you  are  sons,  God  hath  sent  the  Spirit  of  his 
Son  into  your  hearts,  crying,  Abba,  Father.  There¬ 
fore  now  he  is  not  a  servant,  but  a  son.  And  if  a  son, 
an  heir  also  through  God.”  (Gal.  IV,  6,  7).  The 
Apostle  intentionally  adds  to  the  Hebrew  word 
“Abba”  its  translation,  “Father.”  He  desires  to 
bring  to  the  Christian  world  the  revelation  and  joyful 
message  that  fear  of  God  and  awe  of  Him  have  passed 
away,  and  a  new  covenant — the  covenant  of  love  and 
intimacy  with  God, — has  come,  in  which  the  child 
of  God  may  approach  Him  who  is  the  inscrutable 
with  the  self-same  sweet  name  on  his  lips  with  which 
His  Only-begotten  Son  addressed  Him  while  on 
earth: — “Abba,  Father!”  In  this  one  thought  the 
Teacher  of  Nations  has  struck  the  highest  chord  in  the 
gamut  of  spiritual  joy;  a  sound  that  causes  God- 
loving  souls  to  tremble  with  holy  pleasure  in  the 
consciousness:  I  am  a  child  of  God,  not  merely  in  a 
figurative  sense,  but  in  truth  and  very  deed.  If  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  this  masterpiece  of  Apostolic 
wisdom  and  eloquence,  has  been  called  the  most  pro¬ 
found  philosophy  of  religion  and  the  most  comforting 
book  of  consolation  in  the  battle  of  life,  the  chief 


- 

64  THE  TRUE  LIFE 

reason  for  this  is  because  the  tender,  sublime  concept 
of  this  filial  relationship  of  man  to  God,  permeates 
the  whole  book  like  a  ray  of  sunshine. 

The  character  of  adoptive  childhood  in  ordinary 
life  is  a  very  inadequate  illustration  of  what  the  new 
communion  of  love  between  God  and  man  in  sancti¬ 
fying  grace  means.  For  when  a  child  is  adopted  in 
a  worldly  sense,  the  only  effect  produced  is  a  legal 
or  moral  one,  and  hence  purely  exterior,  whereas,  on 
the  other  hand,  becoming  an  adopted  child  of  God 
brings  with  it  a  physical  change  in  the  soul,  by 
which  it  is  elevated  to  the  greatest  possible  resem¬ 
blance  to  God.  Through  the  supernatural  life  of 
grace  God  imprints  on  the  soul  the  image  of  His  Son 
and  makes  the  soul  like  to  Him.  We  put  on  Christ, 
assume  His  character,  and  imitate  His  divine  life. 
“For  whom  he  [God]  foreknew,  he  also  predestinated 
to  be  made  conformable  to  the  image  of  his  Son;  that 
he  might  be  the  first  born  amongst  many  brethren.” 
(Rom.  VIII,  29). 

The  true  relationship  of  child  to  parent,  founded 
on  physical  descent,  gives  us  a  very  inadequate  idea 
of  what  it  is  to  be  a  child  of  God.  Man  does  not, 
through  his  natural  birth,  receive  the  life  of  his  par¬ 
ents,  but  only  a  life  resembling  theirs,  existing  apart 
from  and  independently  of  theirs;  but  through  his 
spiritual  regeneration  he  receives  the  divine  life,  not 
separate  from  God,  but  one  with  Him,  though  limited, 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  65 


of  course,  by  the  bounds  of  creatural  existence. 
“But  he  who  is  joined  to  the  Lord,  is  one  spirit.” 
(1  Cor.  VI,  17).  Nevertheless,  the  relation  of  the 
child  of  grace  to  God  is  infinitely  below  that  of  the 
only-begotten  and  consubstantial  Son,  who  from  all 
eternity  possesses  the  same  nature  as  the  Father. 
This  relationship  is  a  gift  of  the  infinite  mercy  of 
God.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  St.  Paul,  when  he  uses 
the  word  “Father,”  nearly  always  supplements  it,  as, 
“Father  of  mercies.”  (2  Cor.  I,  3;  Eph.  II,  4;  1 
Tim.  I,  2;  Tit.  Ill,  5). 

From  this  idea  of  divine  sonship  it  follows  natu¬ 
rally  that  all  men  who  are  in  possession  of  the  super¬ 
natural  life,  in  a  sense  bear  a  family  relationship 
one  to  the  other.  “Now  therefore  you  are  no  more 
strangers  and  foreigners;  but  you  are  fellow  citizens 
with  the  saints,  and  domestics  of  God,  built  upon  the 
foundation  of  the  apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ 
himself  being  the  chief  corner  stone.”  (Eph.  II, 
19,  20). 

Finally  a  most  glorious  future  awaits  the  child  of 
God  after  the  death  of  his  body, — the  direct  com¬ 
munion  of  life  with  the  Father  in  indescribable  glory. 
“If  sons,  [we  are]  heirs  also;  heirs  indeed  of  God, 
and  joint  heirs  with  Christ.”  (Rom.  VIII,  17). 
According  to  the  Roman  law — and  it  was  to  Romans 
Paul  addressed  these  words, — adopted  children  in¬ 
herited  equally  with  natural  children.  Hence  the 


66 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


Apostle  means  that  if,  through  grace,  we  have  be¬ 
come  children  of  God  and  brothers  of  Jesus  Christ, 
then  we  shall  also  share  in  the  delights  of  His  inheri¬ 
tance  in  the  Kingdom  of  the  Father. 

The  dignity  and  right  of  inheritance  of  the  chil¬ 
dren  of  God  are  interpreted  very  profoundly  in  the 
prayers  of  the  Church,  when,  on  the  Feast  of  the 
Transfiguration  of  Our  Lord  (6th  August),  she  says: 
“O  God,  who  in  the  glorious  transfiguration  of  Thy 
Only-begotten  Son  hast  confirmed  the  mysteries  of  the 
faith  by  the  testimony  of  the  fathers,  and  who  in  the 
voice  that  came  from  the  bright  cloud  didst  in  a  won¬ 
derful  manner  foreshadow  the  perfect  adoption  of 
sons;  mercifully  grant  that  we  may  become  co-heirs 
with  the  King  of  glory  and  partners  of  His  glory, 
through  the  same  Christ  Our  Lord!” 

•  •••••« 

The  high  dignity  to  which  God  has  raised  His  child 
by  bestowing  on  him  the  grace  of  divine  life  implies 
a  right  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  child — above 
all  a  tender,  childlike  reverence  towards  God.  “God 
hath  not  given  us  the  spirit  of  fear,  but  of  power,  and 
of  love.”  (2  Tim.  I,  7).  “Therefore  now  he  is 
not  a  servant,  but  a  son.”  (Gal.  IV,  7).  Without 
this  spirit  of  childlike  reverence  and  trust  man  is  no 
more  than  a  hireling.  One  of  the  saddest  things  in 
religion  is  the  failure  of  so  many  Christians,  in  their 
life-long  striving  after  God,  to  attain  to  that  loving, 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  67 


trusting  relationship  of  the  child  to  its  father;  they 
think  of  God  as  being  infinitely  distant,  often  too  far 
away  to  be  able  to  form  the  focus  of  their  being. 
Hence  the  doubts  that  assail  them  at  every  step  they 
make ;  hence,  too,  the  want  of  confidence  in  God  when 
adversity  comes  their  way;  and  when  they  do  not 
understand  the  dispositions  of  His  Providence,  then 
come  the  joyless  isolation  and  fear  and  coldness  that 
overwhelm  them  when  they  are  about  to  quit  the 
world  and  its  goods  as  tho’ugh  they  were  going  to  a 
kind  of  exile.  How  different  is  the  case  of  the  child 
of  God!  With  boundless  trust  he  places  himself  un¬ 
reservedly  into  the  hands  of  his  Father,  and  what  he 
cannot  understand  or  solve,  he  leaves  to  the  wisdom 
of  God,  mindful  of  the  beautiful  words  of  the  Apos¬ 
tle:  “To  them  that  love  God  all  things  work  together 
unto  good.”  (Rom.  VIII,  28).  He  is  our  Father, 
who  loves  us — when  He  takes  and  when  He  gives. 
The  feeling  of  entire  abandonment  is  foreign  to  him, 
for  he  knows  he  is  always  near  to  God.  Often  quite 
spontaneously — the  outcome  of  an  impulse  from 
within, — he  hastens  in  spirit  to  Him,  prays  and  seeks 
counsel:  thus  is  formed  as  the  fundamental  disposi¬ 
tion  of  the  soul,  a  vigorous  intercourse  with  God  in 
constant  attention  to  His  holy  will  and  loving  com¬ 
prehension  and  enjoyment  of  His  sacred  Presence;  he 
obeys  as  a  matter  of  course  the  Apostle’s  injunction: 
“Pray  without  ceasing!”  (1  Thess.  V,  17).  Then, 


68 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


too,  his  daily  work  becomes  penetrated  and  illumined 
by  this  holy  atmosphere  of  the  fervent  and  sublime 
spirit  of  filial  relationship  to  God.  As  St.  Paul 
says,  “Whether  you  eat  or  drink,  or  whatsoever  else 
you  do,  do  all  to  the  glory  of  God.”  (1  Cor.  X,  31). 
And  again:  “All  whatsoever  you  do  in  word  or  in 
work,  do  all  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
giving  thanks  to  God  and  the  Father  by  Him.”  (Col. 
Ill,  17).  Thus  the  thought  of  being  a  child  of  God 
sheds  a  gentle  light  like  a  star  over  the  arena  of  our 
earthly  duties,  imparting  to  them  sanctity  and  merit. 
True,  this  divine  sonship  is  rather  imperfect  here  be¬ 
low  and  can  at  any  time  be  lost;  therefore,  it  is  a 
sacred  duty  to  increase  and  perfect  it.  As  a  dutiful 
child  looks  up  to  his  father  and  imitates  him,  seek¬ 
ing  his  counsel  when  in  doubt,  we  too  should  look  to 
Him  who  is  the  Father  of  Light,  conforming  ourselves 
to  the  Divine  Model:  “Be  ye  therefore  followers  of 
God,  as  most  dear  children,  and  walk  in  love.” 
(Eph.  V,  1  sq.). 

St.  Thomas  Aquinas  says  that  one  of  the  best  proofs 
that  we  are  in  the  state  of  grace  is  the  extent  to  which 
we  hold  the  world  in  contempt.  (S.  Theol .,  la  2ae, 
qu.  112,  art.  5,  ad  3).  The  child  of  God  always 
feels  that  he  is  a  pilgrim  and  a  stranger  while  on 
earth.  “For  we  have  not  here  a  lasting  city,  but 
we  seek  one  that  is  to  come.”  (Heb.  XIII,  14).  I 
want  to  tread  this  world  of  joys  and  sorrows  as  a 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  69 

pilgrim,  always  ready  to  cross  the  bridge  that  leads 
to  Thee,  0  Lord.  (Eichendorff.)  The  Christian’s 
whole  life  is  centered  on  Heaven:  he  breathes  the 
atmosphere  of  Heaven  when  he  prays  to  his  Father, 
in  his  faith  he  finds  celestial  light,  in  the  Bread  of  the 
Most  Blessed  Eucharist  he  eats  celestial  food.  “Our 
conversation  is  in  Heaven.”  (Philip.  Ill,  30).  “I 
must  be  as  my  Father  is,”  he  says  in  imitation  of  his 
Divine  Brother,  Jesus.  The  Alpine  dweller,  when  he 
goes  through  foreign  lands,  passes  by  many  a  fine 
mountain  and  finds  no  charm  in  it,  because  he  pos¬ 
sesses  more  magnificent  sights  in  his  home  country 
with  its  gigantic,  snow-capped  glaciers  and  glorious 
sunsets;  so  it  is  with  him  who  loves  God;  the  few 
enticing  pleasures  along  the  wayside  on  his  earthly 
pilgrimage  have  no  attraction  for  him  because  his  eye 
is  directed  towards  the  everlasting  hills  with  their 
radiant  joys,  towards  the  Alpine  heights  of  the  life 
of  prayer.  Purer  and  nobler  joys  await  the  faithful 
believer  in  his  true  home.  To  him  God  is  the  great 
Fact  before  which  all  else  sinks  into  nothingness;  to 
him  God  is  the  great  Reality  which  he  meets  every¬ 
where,  imparting  beauty  to  all  things. 

This  consciousness  of  filial  relationship  to  God  is 
the  saints’  most  powerful  motive  for  their  contempt  of 
the  world;  it  is  the  foundation  of  their  constancy  in 
the  love  of  God.  As  St.  Cyprian  writes,  “He  who  has 
known  himself  to  be  a  child  of  God  will  never  be  ex- 


70 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 

travagant  in  his  admiration  of  the  works  of  man;  he 
who  can  he  astonished  at  anything  outside  of  God, 
falls  from  the  height  of  his  dignity  as  a  child  of  God.” 
De  Spectac.,  c.  9).  We  are  indebted  to  that  great 
saint  and  Father  of  the  Church,  Pope  Leo  the  Great, 
who  preached  so  wondrously  on  the  mysteries  of  the 
Incarnation  and  Justification,  for  sublime  words  on 
this  subject — words  that  the  Church  puts  before 
us  for  our  meditation  at  the  holy  season  of  Christ¬ 
mas:  “Let  us  thank  God  the  Father,  through  His 
Son  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  out  of  the  great  love 
He  has  borne  us,  has  mercy  on  us,  and  when  we  had 
died  through  sin,  gave  us  new  life  in  and  with  Christ, 
in  order  that  we  should  be  new  creatures  having  a 
new  form  in  Him.  Let  us  put  off  the  old  man  with 
his  ways,  and  after  we  have  been  allowed  to  partake 
in  the  birth  of  Christ,  let  us  renounce  the  works  of  the 
flesh!  Know  your  honor,  0  Christian,  and,  having 
shared  in  the  Divine  Nature,  take  heed  that  through 
degenerate  behavior  you  do  not  return  to  your  former 
baseness.  Consider  whose  Head  and  Body  it  is  of 
which  you  are  a  member!  Remember  that  you  have 
been  rescued  from  the  night  of  darkness  and  placed 
in  God’s  Kingdom  of  Light!”  (Leo  I,  Serm.  de 
Nativ.  Dorn.). 

The  proof  of  the  true  filial  spirit,  according  to  St. 
Paul,  is  a  childlike  obedience  to  the  Father,  when  He 
takes  the  Christian  into  the  school  of  sorrow.  It  may 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  71 


become  the  Father’s  duty  to  punish  the  child;  for  in 
the  best  of  children  there  is  much  that  has  to  be 
pruned.  Quite  often  it  is  the  favorite  children  that 
cause  their  parents  the  most  sorrow;  these  the  Father 
wants  to  become  mpre  and  more  like  His  First-born; 
therefore  He  lays  the  hammer  of  sorrow  and  the 
chisel  of  suffering  to  their  souls,  in  order  that  the 
image  of  Christ  may  be  reproduced  in  them.  The 
Apostle  pursues  the  analogy  yet  farther  by  pointing 
out  the  right  of  the  parent  to  punish  his  child,  the 
earnest,  yet  wise  and  loving  pedagogy  of  the  Divine 
Father:  “My  son,  neglect  not  the  discipline  of  the 
Lord;  neither  be  thou  wearied  whilst  thou  art  re¬ 
buked  by  him;  for  whom  the  Lord  loveth,  he  chas- 
tiseth,  and  he  scourgeth  every  son  whom  he  receiv- 
eth.  Persevere  under  discipline.  God  dealeth  with 
you  as  with  his  sons;  for  what  son  is  there,  whom  the 
father  doth  not  correct?  But  if  you  be  without  chas¬ 
tisement,  whereof  all  are  made  partakers,  then  are 
you  bastards,  and  not  sons.  Moreover  we  have  had 
fathers  of  our  flesh  for  our  instructors,  and  we  rever¬ 
enced  them:  shall  we  not  much  more  obey  the  Father 
of  spirits  and  live?  And  they  indeed  for  a  few  days, 
according  to  their  own  pleasure,  instructed  us;  but 
he,  for  our  profit,  that  we  might  receive  his  sanctifica¬ 
tion.  Now  all  chastisement  for  the  present  indeed 
seemeth  not  to  bring  with  it  joy,  but  sorrow;  but  after¬ 
wards  it  will  yield,  to  them  that  are  exercised  by  it,  the 


72  THE  TRUE  LIFE 

most  peaceable  fruit  of  justice.”  (Hebr.  XII, 
5-11). 

In  another  epistle  St.  Paul,  considering  more 
closely  this  filial  relationship  of  man  to  God,  speaks 
of  an  indispensable  preliminary  to  the  position  of 
honor  held  by  the  child  of  God;  this  necessary  prep¬ 
aration  is  suffering.  “If  we  [are]  sons  [of  God, 
then]  heirs  also;  heirs  indeed  of  God  and  joint  heirs 
with  Christ;  yet  so,  if  we  suffer  with  him,  that  we  may 
be  also  glorified  with  him.”  (Rom.  VIII,  17). 
Christ,  the  only-begotten  Son  of  the  Father,  entered 
into  His  glory  through  suffering;  those  who  through 
grace  are  the  adopted  children  of  God,  should  also 
win  the  eternal  crown  of  victory  through  embracing 
the  Cross.  The  best  source  of  consolation  and 
strength  for  the  afflicted  heart  is  to  look  up  to  the 
Son  of  God  suffering  on  the  Cross ;  hence  the  Apostle’s 
injunction  to  raise  our  eyes  in  dark  hours  to  “{Jesus, 
the  author  and  finisher  of  faith,  who  having  joy  set 
before  him,  endured  the  Cross,  despising  the  shame, 
and  now  sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of 
God.  For  think  diligently  upon  him  that  endureth 
such  opposition  from  sinners  against  himself;  that 
you  be  not  wearied,  fainting  in  your  minds.”  (Hebr. 
XII,  2-3). 

But  even  as  for  the  only-begotten  Son  of  God  the 
awful  hours  of  suffering  on  Mount  Olivet  and  His 
martyrdom  on  the  Cross  were  followed  by  the  bright 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  73 


dawn  of  Easter  morning  amid  the  rejoicing  of 
hosts  of  angels,  so,  too,  for  the  severely-tried  child 
of  God,  the  Father  in  Heaven  has  prepared  joys  so 
pure  and  immeasurable,  so  transcendent  and  unend¬ 
ing,  that  they  cannot  be  gauged  by  any  material 
standards. 


The  Mysticism  of  Christ 

From  the  hour  in  which  Saul  was  stricken  to  the 
ground  by  the  lightning  sent  by  God  in  His  mercy, 
Christ  becomes  the  whole  meaning  of  his  life,  the 
soul  of  his  soul,  the  fulcrum  by  means  of  which  he 
lifts  the  whole  world.  To  him  the  sacred  Person  of 
Jesus  Christ  is  not  a  hero  belonging  to  the  past,  but 
a  living,  constant  Presence,  active  by  efficacious  grace. 
Therefore,  he  rejoices  in  his  own  weakness,  that  the 
power  of  Christ  may  dwell  within  him  (2  Cor.  XII, 
9),  ascribing  to  the  grace  of  Christ  his  success  as  a 
shepherd  of  souls  and  “striving  according  to  his 
working  which  he  worketh  in  him  in  power.”  (Col. 
I,  29).  To  him  Jesus  is  not  far  away,  enthroned 
high  above  the  heavens,  but  truly  present  on  earth, 
where  He  sets  up  the  throne  of  His  grace  in  the  hearts 
of  men,  to  exercise  His  dominion  over  them.  The 
Presence  of  Christ  is  established  through  the  Holy 
Ghost — “as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord.”  (2  Cor.  Ill, 


74 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


18).  It  has  been  made  manifold  on  earth  by  the 
descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

St.  Paul  elucidates  man’s  relationship  to  Christ 
by  a  rich  variety  of  metaphors.  He  uses  the  par¬ 
able  of  the  olive  tree  to  show  how  Christ  takes  up  His 
abode  in  us.  The  chosen  ones  of  God,  hitherto  sons 
of  Adam,  are  grafted  on  the  olive  tree  like  wild  shoots, 
and  thus  converted  into  good  and  noble  shoots. 
“Thou  wert  cut  out  of  the  wild  olive  tree,  which  is 
natural  to  thee  and  grafted  into  the  good  olive  tree” 
(Rom.  XI,  24) ;  that  is,  we  cannot  separate  ourselves 
from  the  wild  olive  tree  and  ingraft  ourselves  on  the 
noble  tree;  but  Christ  in  His  mercy  and  love  can 
draw  us  tp  Him,  plant  us  in  Himself,  and  imbue  us 
with  His  divine  life.  Thus  the  Christian  becomes, 
as  it  were,  a  shoot  of  that  mighty  tree  that  has  grown 
out  of  the  pierced  side  of  Jesus  when  He  hung  dead 
upon  the  Cross. 

Henceforth  Christ  is  his  Brother.  Through  the 
supernatural  life  of  grace  the  Christian  attains  to  the 
closest  relationship  with  the  Godman;  what  He  is  by 
nature,  the  Christian  is  through  grace — a  child  of 
Cod,  hence  a  brother  of  Christ.  “Both  He  that  sanc- 
tifieth  and  they  who  are  sanctified  are  all  of  one.  For 
which  cause  He  is  not  ashamed  to  call  them  brethren, 
saying,  I  will  declare  thy  name  to  my  brethren  .  .  . 
and  again,  Behold  I  and  my  children,  whom  God 
hath  given  me.  Therefore  because  the  children  are 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  75 


partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  he  also  himself  in  like 
manner  hath  been  partaker  of  the  same.  .  .  .  Where¬ 
fore  it  behoved  him  in  all  things  to  be  made  like 
unto  his  brethren.”  (Hebr.  II,  11-17).  “Those 
whom  [God]  foreknew,  He  also  predestinated  to  be 
made  conformable  to  the  image  of  his  Son;  that  he 
might  be  the  first  born  amongst  many  brethren.” 
(Rom.  VIII,  29). 

Our  relationship  to  Christ  is  expressed  yet  more 
beautifully  in  a  simile  by  which  the  prophets  of  the 
Old  Testament  describe  the  position  of  the  chosen 
people  towards  Yahwe  and  in  which  the  Seer  of 
Patmos  clothes  his  deepest  feelings,  namely,  the 
simile  of  bridal  and  matrimonial  love.  Christ 
“loved  the  Church  and  delivered  himself  up  for  it, 
that  he  might  sanctify  it,  cleansing  it  by  the  laver  of 
water  in  the  word  of  life;  that  he  might  present  it 
to  himself  a  glorious  church,  not  having  spot  or 
wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing;  but  that  it  should  be  holy, 
and  without  blemish.”  (Eph.  V,  26  sq.).  The 
union  of  Adam  and  Eve  is  symbolic  of  the  living 
union  of  Chrlrt  and  His  bride.  This  union  was  estab¬ 
lished  in  the  fundamental  mystery  of  the  Incarna¬ 
tion;  but  in  uniting  Himself  with  the  Church,  purify¬ 
ing  and  sanctifying  her,  the  Godman  continues  the 
mystery  of  the  Incarnation,  the  union  of  God  with 
man,  rendering  it  fruitful  to  the  end  of  time. 

No  image  can  show  so  clearly  the  intimacy  of  this 


76 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


relationship  of  redeemed  Christendom  to  the  Godman 
as  that  of  Christ’s  body.  The  divine  dignity  received 
by  the  most  holy  humanity  of  Christ  through  its  per¬ 
sonal  union  with  the  Word  of  God,  is  reflected  upon 
all  the  members  of  the  human  race  in  the  order  of 
grace.  We  are  spiritually  reborn  from  the  marriage 
of  the  Word  of  God  with  humanity.  Even  as  the 
humanity  assumed  in  the  womb  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
is  the  true  Body  of  the  Divine  Logos,  so  mankind,  re¬ 
born  through  grace,  is  the  mystic  Body  of  the  only- 
begotten  Son  of  God,  and  this  Body  is  not  dead,  but 
a  living  organism  consisting  of  innumerable  cells. 
The  saints  build  up  the  Body  of  Jesus  Christ  (Eph. 
IV,  12)  ;  as  the  body  is  one,  yet  has  many  members, 
so  it  is  with  the  Body  of  Christ  (1  Cor.  XII,  12;  cfr. 
Rom.  XII,  5).  But  Christ  is  also  the  Head  of  this 
mysterious  Body,  because  He  is  the  life-giving,  uni¬ 
fying,  and  ruling  principle  of  the  Church  and  of  in¬ 
dividual  souls.  “He  hath  .  .  .  made  him  head 
over  all  the  church,  which  is  his  body,  and  the  fulness 
of  him  who  is  filled  all  in  all.”  (Eph.  I,  22  sq.). 

Even  as  Adam  was  the  head  of  a  new  humanity, 
and  we  are  his  members,  so  Christ,  too,  is  the  Head 
of  a  new  humanity,  and  we  are  His  members  as  truly 
as  we  are  Adam’s.  Here  the  Apostle’s  sublime  ex¬ 
position  resembles  that  of  the  Divine  Master,  when  He 
calls  Himself  the  vine  and  us  the  branches  which  He 
fills  with  life.  The  great,  ultimate  purpose  of  the 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  77 

Incarnation  was  that  humanity,  corrupted  in  its  head 
and  members  by  original  sin,  should  be  given  a  new 
head,  and  through  it,  a  new  supernatural  youth 
in  the  divine  life  of  grace.  “Know  you  not  that 
your  bodies  are  the  members  of  Christ?  .  .  .  But 
he  who  is  joined  to  the  Lord,  is  one  spirit.”  (1  Cor. 
VI,  15,  17). 

Finally,  St.  Paul  looks  upon  the  sublime  Personal¬ 
ity  of  the  Godman  as  the  great  gift  of  grace  which 
God  has  bestowed  upon  the  poor  human  race.  Speak¬ 
ing  of  the  advent  of  the  Saviour  into  this  world,  he 
says:  “The  grace  of  God  our  Saviour  hath  appeared 
to  all  men.”  (Tit.  II,  11).  Hence  also  he  briefly 
calls  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  the  joyful  message  of 
the  grace  of  God  (Acts  XX,  24),  and  again  he  says, 
that  through  the  Redeemer  the  grace  of  God  has 
abounded  unto  many  (Rom.  V,  15).  Thus  the  sacred 
humanity  of  Jesus  forms  the  tender  bond  which  unites 
creature  and  Creator,  earth  and  Heaven,  nature  and 
the  supernatural ;  so  that  the  words  of  the  prophet  are 
fulfilled  in  a  higher  sense:  “I  will  draw  them  with 
the  cords  of  Adam,  with  the  bands  of  love.”  (Osee, 
XI,  4).  When  the  Apostle  speaks  of  Emmanuel,  the 
great  mystery  of  God  and  the  mystery  of  his  own 
heart,  his  thoughts  soar  aloft  as  on  eagle’s  wings  and 
bear  us  along  with  irresistible  force.  He  departs 
from  his  usual  style;  his  words  are  a  hymn  of  praise, 
an  outpouring  of  his  loving  heart:  “Evidently  great 


78  THE  TRUE  LIFE 

is  the  mystery  of  godliness,  which  was  manifested  in 
the  flesh,  was  justified  in  the  spirit,  appeared  unto 
angels,  hath  been  preached  unto  the  Gentiles,  is  be¬ 
lieved  in  the  world,  is  taken  up  in  glory.”  (1  Tim. 

Ill,  16). 

In  the  soul  of  St.  Paul  devotion  to  the  Lord  rises  to 
the  most  profound  mysticism;  more  than  all  else  it 
seems  to  be  a  devotion  of  illumined  love .  Faith  in 
Christ  and  love  of  Christ  he  regards  as  inseparable; 
for  faith  without  love  leaves  the  heart  cold  and  dead, 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  love  without  faith  leads  us 
astray.  Hence  his  greatest  anxiety  as  shepherd  of 
souls  is  that  in  the  souls  entrusted  to  his  care  faith  and 
love  should  become  more  and  more  deeply  rooted; 
for  this  reason  he  prays  to  the  Father  of  Our  Lord 
Jesus, — the  Father  of  the  whole  family  in  Heaven  and 
on  earth, — to  grant  from  the  wealth  of  His  glory 
that  they  may  be  strengthened  inwardly  by  His  Spirit; 
that  Christ  may  dwell  in  their  hearts  by  faith  and  that 
through  love  they  may  perceive  with  all  the  saints 
what  is  the  length  and  breadth,  the  height  and  depth 
of  the  charity  of  God,  which  surpasseth  all  knowledge, 
that  they  may  be  filled  unto  the  fullness  of  God 
(cfr.  Eph.  Ill,  14-17.)  To  St.  Paul  Christ  is  the 
content  and  the  substance  of  all  understanding.  The 
light  of  natural  knowledge  pales,  all  earthly  beauty 
vanishes  before  the  wealth  of  the  glory  of  Christ. 
“For  God,  who  commanded  the  light  to  shine  out 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  79 

of  darkness,  hath  shined  in  our  hearts,  to  give  the 
light  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God,  in  the 
face  of  Christ  Jesus.”  (2  Cor.  IV,  6).  With  every 
new  perception  the  Christian’s  love  for  Jesus  in¬ 
creases,  and  with  love  his  knowledge  increases  and 
reveals  to  him  new  and  wonderful  worlds  in  the  king¬ 
dom  of  Christ’s  love,  which  is  beyond  the  power  of 
man  to  describe. 

The  Apostle  sinks  beneath  the  weight  of  rapture 
which  he  experiences  at  the  most  Holy  Name  of  Jesus, 
and  his  intense  feelings  are  vented  in  praise  of  the 
Son  of  the  Virgin. 

St.  Paul’s  mystical  love  of  Christ  is  revealed  in  an 
undivided  affection.  During  his  missionary  jour¬ 
neys  he  had  seen  much  that  was  beautiful,  much  that 
attracted  him  in  the  ancient  cities  of  culture,  in  Rome 
with  its  glorious  sights  and  treasures;  the  pagan 
festivities  and  Isthmian  games  of  Greece,  the  delight¬ 
ful  contests  in  sports  and  intellectual  achievements 
in  Athens  and  Corinth;  but  all  the  beauty  and  splen¬ 
dor  of  the  world  were  as  nothing  compared  with  the 
grace  that  had  come  to  him  through  Christ  Jesus. 
“I  count  all  things  to  be  but  loss  for  the  excellent 
knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ  my  Lord;  for  whom  I 
have  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things,  and  count  them 
but  as  dung,  that  I  may  gain  Christ.”  (Phil.  Ill, 
8).  He  knows  that  his  heart  is  free  from  undue  at¬ 
tachment  to  earthly  things ;  and  because  his  soul,  like 


80 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


an  empty  vessel,  is  stripped  of  the  creatural,  it  is 
shaped  to  God’s  likeness  not  only  in  substance,  as  in 
the  case  of  other  Christians,  but  also  in  its  activity. 
God  reveals  Himself  to  His  faithful  servant  and  allows 
a  ray  of  His  divine  light  to  penetrate  the  depths  of  the 
Apostle’s  soul,  raising  him  up  to  the  heights  of  a 
sublime,  mystic  contemplation,  and  permitting  him 
for  a  short  time  to  taste  the  bliss  of  Paradise.  “I 
know  a  man  in  Christ  .  .  .  (whether  in  the  body,  I 
know  not,  or  out  of  the  body,  I  know  not;  God  know- 
eth)  such  a  one  caught  up  to  the  third  heaven;  .  .  . 
that  he  was  caught  up  into  Paradise  and  heard  secret 
words,  which  it  is  not  granted  to  man  to  utter.”  (2 
Cor.  XII,  2,  4). 

Yet,  notwithstanding  such  great  privileges,  how 
humble  is  the  favored  Apostle!  For  fourteen  years 
he  carries  the  sweet  secret  in  his  heart,  before  he  re¬ 
veals  this  proof  of  extraordinary  divine  favor,  and  he 
reveals  it  now  only  because  he  is  compelled  to  do  so 
by  exterior  circumstances.  “I  have  become  foolish, 
you  have  compelled  me,”  is  his  reprimand  at  the  end. 
(2  Cor.  XII,  11).  It  is  not  his  desire  to  boast  of  his 
privileges,  but  rather  to  speak  of  his  frailties,  that 
none  may  consider  him  better  than  he  is.  Lest  the 
salvation  of  his  soul  be  endangered  through  spiritual 
pride,  he  has  been  given  “a  sting  of  the  flesh,”  by 
which  he  is  again  and  again  reminded  of  his  weak¬ 
ness  and  of  the  help  he  receives  from  above.  He  re- 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  81 


joices  in  his  infirmities  and  in  the  calumnies  and  the 
oppressions  which  he  has  to  suffer  for  Christ’s  sake; 
for  when  he  feels  that  he  is  weak,  he  is  in  truth  strong. 
He  knows  that  he  has  received  wonderful  favors — his 
vocation  and  conversion,  the  gift  of  contemplation  and 
Apostolic  successes;  but  in  all  these  privileges  he 
humbly  beholds  the  merciful  hand  of  his  Saviour  and 
he  never  wearies  of  expressing,  his  acknowledgment 
of  and  gratitude  for  God’s  goodness  towards  him  in 
the  disposition  and  direction  of  his  life. 

This  deep  humility  renders  his  love  of  Christ  a  con¬ 
suming  sacrificial  love.  When  the  Lord  in  His  won¬ 
derful  way  called  Paul  to  the  apostleship,  He  put  on 
his  work  the  stamp  of  suffering:  “I  will  show  him 
how  great  things  he  must  suffer  for  my  name’s  sake.” 
(Acts  IX,  16) .  It  may  be  that  the  Divine  Master  led 
His  disciple  to  these  heights  of  contemplation  and  ce¬ 
lestial  ecstasy  in  order  to  prepare  and  arm  him  for  a 
most  fervent  communion  of  suffering  with  Himself. 
And  like  a  giant  St.  Paul  set  forth  exulting  on  the 
royal  road  of  the  Cross.  In  the  eleventh  chapter  of 
his  Second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  he  gives  a  dra¬ 
matic  account  of  all  he  suffered  in  body  and  soul 
through  persecution  and  imprisonment.  He  wants  to 
know  Christ  only  as  the  crucified  one  (1  Cor.  II,  2), 
he  is  nailed  to  the  cross  with  Him  in  spirit  (Gal.  II, 
19).  In  these  two  texts  are  revealed  the  full  height 
of  his  tender  love  for  Christ  and  the  utmost  depth  of 


82 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


an  intense  mysticism  of  suffering.  To  him  the  world 
estranged  from  God  lies  shattered  at  the  foot  of  the 
Cross:  “God  forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the 
cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  the  world  is 
crucified  to  me,  and  I  to  the  world.”  (Gal.  VI,  14). 

The  truth  of  the  Cross  forms  the  central  idea  of  his 
Apostolic  preaching.  He  writes  this  text  upon  the 
hearts  of  the  pagans  and  Jews  newly  converted  to 
Christianity  as  the  first  axiom,  the  first  paragraph  of 
the  constitution  of  the  kingdom  of  God’s  grace;  and 
in  his  last  profound  epistles,  which  he  sends  to  his 
faithful  flock  from  the  prison,  where  he  is  kept  in 
bonds  and  chains  like  a  criminal,  he  can  write  of 
nothing  more  sublime  than  the  communion  of  peace 
with  his  Lord,  in  which  alone  he  sees  his  own  com¬ 
munion  of  glory  with  Christ; — configuratus  morti 
eius  (Phil.  Ill,  10),  to  be  conformable  to  his  Master 
in  suffering  and  death  is  to  him  the  most  sacred  aim 
of  his  expiring  life,  because  he  sees  rising  out  of  a 
close  following  of  the  cross  an  indescribable  commun¬ 
ion  of  glory  with  the  transfigured  Christ  on  the  right 
hand  of  God.  “If  we  be  dead  with  him,  we  shall 
live  also  with  him;  if  we  suffer,  we  shall  also  reign 
with  him.”  (2  Tim.  II,  11  sq.).  He  seldom  speaks 
of  the  ignominious  death  of  the  Saviour  on  the  cross 
without  directly  associating  with  it  the  glory  of 
Heaven;  for,  not  the  mournful  sight  of  the  cross  on 
Golgotha,  but  the  joyous  light  of  the  Easter  sun,  with 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  83 


the  hope  of  seeing  God  for  all  eternity,  forms  the 
most  powerful  motive  for  a  great,  self-immolating 
love  of  Christ. 

As  the  great  fire  in  the  furnace  can  no  longer  be 
confined  within  the  narrow  walls  of  its  prison,  but 
breaks  forth  through  the  chimney  in  mighty  flames, 
even  so  the  Apostle’s  ardent  love  of  Christ  forces  its 
way  to  God  through  the  narrow  confines  of  space  and 
time.  He  wishes  to  break  the  chains  of  sensuality,  to 
abolish  the  abode  of  corporeality;  he  wants  to  be  free, 
that  he  may  be  with  Christ.  One  thing  only  checks 
his  desire  to  die, — the  consciousness  of  the  duty  im¬ 
posed  on  him  by  his  apostleship.  ‘Tor  to  me,  to  live 
is  Christ:  and  to  die  is  gain.  And  if  to  live  in  the 
flesh,  this  is  to  me  the  fruit  of  labor,  and  what  I  shall 
choose  I  know  not.  But  I  am  straightened  between 
two:  having  a  desire  to  be  dissolved  and  to  be  with 
Christ,  a  thing  by  far  the  better.  But  to  abide  still 
in  the  flesh,  is  needful  for  you.”  (Phil.  I,  21—24). 

To  plant  and  cultivate  in  the  hearts  of  his  flock  this 
communion  of  grace  with  Christ  is  the  highest  aim  of 
the  Apostle.  Hence  his  constant  exhortation  to  his 
spiritual  children  to  put  on  Christ,  to  grow  unto  Him, 
to  take  Him  as  a  model  in  their  lives.  In  his  Epistle 
to  the  Galatians  he  speaks  the  affectionate  language 
of  an  anxious  mother  to  her  children:  “My  little 
children,  of  whom  I  am  in  labor  again,  until  Christ 
be  formed  in  you.”  (Gal.  IY,  19).  His  anxiety 


84 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


will  not  cease  until  they  have  attained  to  the  maturity 
of  the  Christian  life,  to  the  final  reward  of  striving 
after  virtue,  to  the  mystic  union  with  Christ,  when  it 
will  no  longer  be  they  who  live,  but  Christ  Himself 
who  will  live  in  them  through  the  closest  communion 
of  grace  in  a  holy  love. 


New  Life  in  the  Holy  Ghost 

Divine  life  flows  into  the  creature  in  two  great 
streams:  through  the  mystery  of  the  Incarnation  the 
inexhaustible,  divine  fullness  of  grace  flows  out  of 
the  bosom  of  the  Trinity  into  the  Sacred  Humanity 
of  Christ;  from  the  Sacred  Humanity  of  the  Re¬ 
deemer  as  the  Head  of  a  new  body,  it  flows  into  the 
hearts  of  the  justified,  raising  them  to  the  sublime 
position  of  children  of  God.  Thus  the  process  of 
justification  through  the  Sacraments  of  the  Church  is 
fundamentally  but  the  continuation  through  time  and 
space  of  the  Sacrament  of  the  Incarnation.  The 
Source  and  the  Cause  of  this  stream  of  grace,  the 
vicar  as  it  were,  of  the  Saviour  who  has  ascended  into 
Heaven,  is  the  third  Person  of  the  Divine  Trinity,  the 
Holy  Ghost,  whom  the  Church  in  the  Credo  beauti¬ 
fully  names  “Lord  and  Life-giver”  because  He  brings 
a  new,  spiritual  spring  to  souls.  St.  Paul,  the  trouba¬ 
dour  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  describes  more  forcibly  and 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  85 


expressively  than  any  other  hagiographer,  the  nature 
and  working  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  His  intimate  rela¬ 
tionship  to  the  Christian  heart,  and  His  mysterious, 
divine  operation  in  the  sanctuary  of  the  human  soul. 
He  regards  the  third  Person  of  the  Blessed  Trinity  as 
the  Sweet  Guest,  no  less  than  the  Great  Reformer,  of 
the  soul. 

We  should  have  but  a  slight  idea  of  the  dignity  of 
a  child  of  God  if  we  were  to  view  it  only  in  the  ex¬ 
ternal  imparting  of  grace  and  see  in  man’s  tender  and 
intimate  relations  to  the  Holy  Ghost  only  the  exterior 
harmony  of  thoughts  and  desires.  The  Holy  Ghost 
is  not  only  the  Author  of  graces  and  the  Fountainhead 
of  the  new,  divine  life  in  us;  He  has,  by  His  gifts, 
descended  personally  into  the  redeemed  soul,  as  the 
Apostle  expressly  tells  us:  “The  charity  of  God  is 
poured  forth  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  who 
is  given  to  us.”  (Rom.  II,  5).  Thus,  not  only  the 
charity  of  God,  but  also  the  Divine  Cause  of  this 
charity,  is  bestowed  on  us,  as  a  force  that  penetrates 
the  very  substance  of  the  soul,  rendering  it  fruitful; 
hence  the  Apostle  exhorts  the  Ephesians:  “Be  ye 
filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit.”  (Eph.  V,  18). 

True,  the  Holy  Ghost  is,  by  virtue  of  His  immens¬ 
ity  and  omnipresence,  always  present  in  the  soul  of 
man  and,  by  His  all-conserving  omnipotence,  always 
active  in  it;  but  this  activity  is  a  purely  natural  one, 
because  it  occurs  in  the  natural  order  and  has  for  its 


86 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


aim  purely  natural  effects.  In  the  soul  that  has  re¬ 
ceived  grace,  however,  the  Holy  Ghost  works  in  a  way 
hitherto  unknown.  And  since  the  Holy  Ghost  is  given 
to  the  soul  as  a  new  foundation  and  new  form  of  life, 
He  is  active  therein  not  only  in  a  passing,  but  in  a 
lasting  way.  For  this  reason  St.  Paul,  when  speak¬ 
ing  of  the  Presence  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  intentionally 
chooses  the  expression  “dwell,”  in  order  to  convey  the 
idea  of  a  lasting  state:  “Know  you  not,  that  you  are 
the  temple  of  God,  and  that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelleth 
in  you?”  (1  Cor.  Ill,  16).  “But  you  are  not  in  the 
flesh,  but  in  the  spirit,  if  so  be  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
dwell  in  you.”  (Rom.  VIII,  9).  “Keep  the  good 
thing  committed  to  thy  trust  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  who 
dwelleth  in  us.”  (2  Tim.  I,  14). 

This  personal  Presence  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the 
souls  of  the  just  is  the  logical  effect  of  sanctifying 
grace.  Since  the  divine  life  of  grace  consists  in  a  su¬ 
pernatural  uplifting  of  the  human  faculties  of  knowl¬ 
edge  and  love,  so  as  to  enable  man  to  behold  God 
hereafter, — if  his  filial  relationship  to  God  is  truly 
a  living  one,  it  must  be  possible  to  conceive  of 
God  as  personally  present  in  the  soul  through  grace 
already  here  on  earth.  Further,  according  to  the 
express  teaching  of  the  Church,  a  person  who  is 
in  the  state  of  grace  is  a  friend  of  God.  Now,  if  a 
true  and  lasting  friendship  between  men  is  not  easily 
conceivable  without  bodily  presence  and  if,  without 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  87 

\  /  jF 

\ 

this  presence,  it  suffers,  or  at  least  grows  cold  with 
time,  then  indeed  the  Christian  possesses  an  unmis¬ 
takable  claim  on  the  real  Presence  of  God;  so  that 
theologians  say,  if  God  were  not  present  in  the  soul 
of  the  just  by  virtue  of  His  omnipresence,  He  must 
be  present  therein  for  the  reason  that  the  soul  has  a 
legal  claim  on  His  presence  through  sanctifying 
grace.  I 

This  indwelling  of  God  in  the  human  soul  is  as¬ 
cribed  primarily  to  the  Holy  Ghost.  In  the  inner 
life  of  the  Blessed  Trinity  He  is  the  holy  stream  of 
love  that  circulates  between  the  Father  and  the  Son 
for  all  eternity;  He  is,  as  it  were,  their  very  heartbeat, 
aflame  with  an  unending  tenderness ;  He  is,  according 
to  St.  Bernard,  the  kiss  and  embrace  of  the  Father  and 
the  Son.  ( Serm .  in  Cant.,  V).  Since  sanctifying 
grace,  as  the  foundation  of  the  divine  life  in  us,  is, 
on  the  one  hand,  the  effect  and  proof  of  the  most 
fervent  and  incomprehensible  divine  love,  and  since, 
on  the  other  hand,  it  is  expressed  chiefly  by  charity, 
grace  clearly  bears  a  very  special  relation  to  the 
Third  Divine  Person  as  the  Author  and  Bearer  of  su¬ 
pernatural  love.  “The  charity  of  God  is  poured 
forth  in  our  hearts,  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  is  given 
to  us.”  (Rom.  V,  5). 

Two  views  are  to  be  excluded  here  as  leading  to 
heresy.  Above  all  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
in  the  soul  must  not  be  understood  to  mean  that  the 


88 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


Holy  Ghost  becomes  essentially  one  with  the  soul. 
Such  a  life  union  between  creature  and  Creator  in  one 
person  took  place  only  at  the  Incarnation  of  the  Son 
of  God ;  and  we  know  that  even  the  blessed  in  Heaven 
can  be  united  with  the  three  Divine  Persons  only 
through  the  Light  of  Glory.  Secondly,  the  indwell¬ 
ing  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  soul  may  not  be  con¬ 
ceived  as  separate  and  apart  from  the  two  other  Di¬ 
vine  Persons.  As  we  have  seen,  the  Apostle  in  an¬ 
other  place  says  that  the  Son  of  God  is  born  and 
assumes  shape  in  us;  and  our  Divine  Saviour  Himself 
says:  “If  any  one  love  me,  he  will  keep  my  word 
and  my  Father  will  love  him,  and  we  will  come  to 
him,  and  will  make  our  abode  with  him.”  (John 
XIV,  23).  In  the  Personal  Presence  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  us  through  grace,  we  see  the  true,  exalted 
dignity  of  the  Christian  securely  anchored  and  trans¬ 
figured  to  the  highest  degree.  Its  possession  forms 
the  blossom  and  the  crown  of  the  justified  soul.  This 
profound  truth  caused  the  friends  of  God  to  tremble 
with  joy  at  such  an  immense  favor, — from  the  first 
Christians,  who,  in  their  consciousness  of  this  dignity, 
called  themselves  theophoroi,  that  is,  bearers  of  God, 
in  contradistinction  to  the  pagans,  up  to  Father 
Meschler,  the  writer  of  that  magnificent  work,  “The 
Gift  of  Pentecost”;  and  again,  from  Leonidas,  the 
father  of  Origen,  who  lived  in  the  second  century  and 
possessed  such  strong  faith  that  he  arose  in  the  night 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  89 


to  kiss  the  breast  of  his  little  son  because  he  saw  in 
him  the  living  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  up  to  Dr. 
M.  Scheeben,  whose  profound  speculations  strive  to 
secure  for  the  Holy  Ghost  His  proper  place  in  the 
faith  and  life  of  to-day.  Following  in  the  footsteps 
of  St.  Paul,  St.  Augustine  worships  the  mystery  of 
the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  soul ;  while  St. 
Chrysostom  calls  it  a  miracle  greater  than  Josue’s 
power  over  the  Sun.  {In  Hebr.,  XXVII,  4).  St. 
Bernard  and  Albert  the  Great  were  the  first  of  the 
mystics  to  whom  this  sublime  doctrine  became  a  flood 
of  light,  which  revealed  to  them  an  entirely  new, 
supernatural  world  of  knowledge  and  faith,  and  a 
salutary  spring  from  which  they  imbibed  a  life  and 
an  aim. 

The  Apostle  leaves  us  in  no  doubt  regarding  the 
coming  to  us  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  the  duration  of 
His  indwelling.  According  to  him  the  spiritual  life 
can  be  both  intensified  and  diminished.  When,  on 
his  third  missionary  journey,  Paul  came  to  Ephesus, 
the  capital  of  Asia  Minor,  he  met  certain  disciples, 
who  had  received  the  faith  and  the  baptism  of  St. 
John.  Upon  asking  them  whether  they  had  received 
the  Holy  Ghost,  he  was  told,  to  his  surprise,  that  they 
had  not  even  heard  there  was  a  Holy  Ghost.  He  in¬ 
structed  them,  administered  valid  Christian  baptism 
to  them,  laid  his  hands  on  them,  and  they  received  the 
Holy  Ghost,  spoke  in  divers  tongues  and  prophesied. 


90 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


(Acts  XIX,  2-6).  The  sad  ignorance  which  the 
Apostle  had  found  in  these  “believing  disciples” 
probably  caused  him  to  speak  repeatedly  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  his  short  Epistle  to  the  people  of  Ephesus. 
Thus  he  exhorts  them:  “Be  ye  filled  with  the  Holy 
Spirit.”  (Eph.  V,  18).  And  he  implores  them  not 
to  “grieve  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,”  whereby  they 
were  “sealed  unto  the  day  of  redemption”  (Eph. 
IV,  30), — a  text  that  shows  us  more  clearly  than 
any  other  how  personal  and  intimate  St.  Paul  regarded 
the  relations  of  the  Third  Divine  Person  to  the  soul 
in  the  state  of  grace.  He  looks  upon  voluntary  ve¬ 
nial  sin  as  a  grave  offence  against  the  Majesty  of  God, 
who  has  shown  us  such  infinite  love ; — not  to  speak  of 
mortal  sin,  which  is  a  complete  estrangement  from 
God,  and  utterly  destroys  the  tender  operation  of 
the  Sweet  Guest  of  the  soul  and  extinguishes  the  celes¬ 
tial  flame  of  divine  love.  Hence  his  earnest  warning 
to  the  Thessalonians  not  to  extinguish  the  Spirit  (1 
Thess.  V,  19).  True,  the  Holy  Ghost  is  not  literally 
driven  out  of  the  soul  by  grievous  sin,  since  by  His 
omnipresence  He  penetrates  and  fills  the  soul  in  a 
natural  way;  but  the  light  of  His  grace  is  extin¬ 
guished.  It  is  like  a  person  wanting  to  exclude  from 
his  house  the  light  of  day  by  covering  the  windows 
with  heavy  shutters,  so  that  there  is  only  darkness 
within.  The  sun  continues  to  shine;  it  is  only  the 
will  of  the  inhabitant  that  prevents  its  light  and 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  91 


warmth  from  entering  within.  St.  Paul  speaks  of 
extinguishing  the  Spirit  of  God  in  the  soul.  This 
rebellion  against  the  Holy  Ghost  by  mortal  sin  is  in 
his  eyes  a  crime  so  accursed  that  he  places  it  on  a 
level  with  the  crucifixion  of  the  Son  of  God.  In  his 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  he  speaks  of  the  sin  of  a  ren¬ 
egade,  who  had  been  “illuminated”  (by  baptism) 
and  had  enjoyed  the  celestial  gift  (in  the  Blessed 
Eucharist)  and  been  “made  partaker  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,”  yet  had  “fallen  away,”  thus  “crucifying 
again  .  .  .  the  Son  of  God,  and  making  him  a  mock¬ 
ery.”  (Hebr.  VI,  4,  6).  In  another  chapter  of  the 
same  Epistle  we  read:  “A  man  making  void  the  law 
of  Moses,  dieth  without  any  mercy  under  two  or  three 
witnesses ;  how  much  more  do  you  think  he  deserveth 
worse  punishments  who  hath  trodden  under  foot  the 
Son  of  God,  and  hath  esteemed  the  blood  of  the  testa¬ 
ment  unclean,  by  which  he  was  sanctified,  and  hath 
offered  an  affront  to  the  Spirit  of  grace?”  (Hebr. 
X,  28  sq.).  He  proceeds  to  point  out  the  awful  con¬ 
sequences  of  such  criminal  conduct,  which  only  God 
can  judge  and  avenge.  “For  we  know  him  that  hath 
said:  ‘Vengeance  belongeth  to  me,  and  I  will  repay.’ 
.  .  .  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
the  living  God.”  (Hebr.  X,  30).  Hence  his  warn¬ 
ing  to  the  Corinthians,  “Know  you  not,  that  you  are 
the  temple  of  God,  and  that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwell- 
eth  in  you?  But  if  any  man  violate  the  temple  of 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


: 


/A 


i 

I  1 

92 

God,  him  shall  God  destroy.  For  the  temple  of  God 
is  holy,  which  you  are.”  (1  Cor.  Ill,  16  sq.).  That 
a  child  of  God  should  commit  a  mortal  sin,  the  Apos¬ 
tle  regards  as  a  mysterium  iniquitatis ,  a  mystery  of 
wickedness  (2  Thes.  II,  7),  which  he  cannot  under¬ 
stand.  If  grace  raises  man  to  regions  of  light,  where 
he  is  permitted  to  behold  the  divine  splendor,  to  de¬ 
scribe  which  words  fail;  grievous  sin  compels  him 
to  descend  into  an  abyss  of  awful  darkness.  He  sees 
the  most  tender  ties  of  love  between  Creator  and  crea¬ 
ture  rudely  torn  to  pieces,  the  sublime  sanctuary  of 
the  temple  of  grace  in  the  soul  desecrated  and  de¬ 
stroyed,  the  mystery  of  divine  grace  swallowed  in  the 
mystery  of  human  wickedness. 


The  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  soul  forms 
the  foundation  of  a  supernatural  tendency  of  the 
Spirit.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  the  Great  Reformer  of 
souls .  Ezechiel  compared  Him  to  “cleansing  water” 
and  promised  in  the  name  of  God  the  Father:  “I 
will  pour  upon  you  clean  water,  and  you  shall  be 
cleansed  from  all  your  filthiness,  and  I  will  cleanse 
you  from  all  your  idols,  and  I  will  give  you  a  new 
heart  and  put  a  new  spirit  within  you;  and  I  will 
take  away  the  stony  heart  put  of  your  flesh,  and  will 
give  you  a  heart  of  flesh.  And  I  will  put  my  Spirit 
in  the  midst  of  you;  and  I  will  cause  you  to  walk  in 
my  commandments,  and  to  keep  my  judgments,  and 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  93 


do  them.  .  .  .  You  shall  be  my  people,  and  I  will 
be  your  God.”  (Ezechiel  XXXVI,  25-28).  The 
process  of  the  sanctification  of  the  intellect  takes 
place  primarily  by  means  of  a  humble,  trusting 
faith.  Under  the  sway  of  the  Holy  Ghost  the  heart 
becomes  receptive  for  the  seeds  of  faith;  ideas  and 
impulses  are  stirred  up,  which  draw  man  gradually 
away  from  the  material  world  and  bring  him  closer  to 
Heaven;  for  the  doctrine  of  Christianity  ultimately 
resolves  itself  into  a  mystery,  which  nature  cannot 
penetrate;  Christianity  in  fact  is  a  religion  of  mys¬ 
teries.  “We  speak  of  the  wisdom  of  God  in  a  mys¬ 
tery,  a  wisdom  which  is  hidden,  which  God  ordained 
before  the  world,  unto  our  glory;  which  none  of  the 
princes  of  this  world  knew.  .  .  .  But  to  us  God  hath 
revealed  them,  by  His  Spirit.  For  the  Spirit  search¬ 
ed!  all  things,  yea,  the  deep  things  of  God.  For  what 
man  knoweth  the  things  of  a  man  but  the  spirit  of  a 
man  that  is  in  him?  So  the  things  also  that  are  of 
God  no  man  knoweth,  but  the  Spirit  of  God.”  (1 
Cor.  II,  7—11).  It  is  an  incomparably  beautiful 
chapter  in  which  the  simple  tent-maker  of  Tarsus  dis¬ 
plays  to  the  cultured  Greeks  a  knowledge  inspired  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  that  soars  high  above  the  speculation 
and  sophistry  of  the  flourishing  schools  of  Greek 
philosophy. 

Not  only  does  the  Divine  Teacher,  the  Holy  Ghost, 
present  to  the  thinking  mind  inexpressibly  mysterious 


94 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


matter  for  thought;  He  also  bestows  the  power  lov¬ 
ingly  to  understand,  in  humble  faith,  the  sublime 
subject  of  knowledge.  In  the  profound  words  of  St. 
Augustine,  man  receives  from  the  Holy  Ghost  “not 
only  what  he  sees,  but  also,  that  he  may  see”  (“non 
solum  id,  quod  videt,  sed  etiam  ut  videat  ”  Conf.,  I, 
7,  c.  21,  n.  27).  The  Holy  Ghost  renders  the  heart 
sympathetic  towards  the  subject  of  revelation  and  in 
this  way  creates  in  the  workshop  of  the  soul  a  sound¬ 
ing-board  attuned  to  the  divine  truth.  It  is  for  this 
reason,  ultimately,  that  the  life  of  the  just  man  can 
be  rightly  valued  only  by  such  as  are  of  his  own  way 
of  thinking:  “Now  we  have  received  not  the  spirit 
of  this  world,  but  the  Spirit  that  is  of  God;  that  we 
may  know  the  things  that  are  given  us  from  God.  .  .  . 
But  the  sensual  man  perceiveth  not  these  things  that 
are  of  the  Spirit  of  God;  for  it  is  foolishness  to  him, 
and  he  cannot  understand,  because  it  is  spiritually 
examined.  But  the  spiritual  man  judgeth  all  things; 
and  he  himself  is  judged  rightly  of  no  man.”  (1 
Cor.  II,  12-15).  Here  the  Apostle  draws  a  sharp 
contrast  between  one  who,  being  without  the  Holy 
Ghost,  aims  only  at  the  sensual  and  the  material,  and 
the  just  man,  who  bears  within  himself  the  Spirit  of 
God  and  whose  heart  is  opened  to  the  kingdom  of  the 
supernatural.  The  child  of  God,  even  though  he  may 
lack  material  advantages,  stands  on  an  infinitely 
higher  plane  than  the  one  who,  while  he  may  possess 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  95 

all  the  gifts  of  mind  and  body,  yet  is  without  the  di¬ 
vine  life  of  grace.  The  Apostle  concludes  this  pro¬ 
found  chapter  by  a  grateful  reference  to  the  unfath¬ 
omable  mystery  of  God:  “For  who  hath  known  the 
mind  of  the  Lord,  that  he  may  instruct  him?  But 
we  have  the  mind  of  Christ.”  (1  Cor.  II,  16). 

Together  with  this  new  orientation  of  knowledge, 
the  will  is  reformed  through  the  inspiration  of  the 
Holy  Ghost;  from  the  land  where  it  is  held  in  slavery 
by  the  sinful  passions,  it  is  led  to  the  Promised  Land 
of  true  moral  freedom ;  “where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
is,  there  is  liberty.”  (2  Cor.  Ill,  17).  And  when 
the  Divine  Physician  has  succeeded  in  planting  the 
seed  of  a  new  life  in  a  well-disposed  heart,  the  pro¬ 
cess  of  spiritual  healing  makes  rapid  progress.  “For 
whosoever  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the 
sons  of  God.  For  if  you  live  according  to  the  flesh, 
you  shall  die;  but  if  by  the  Spirit  you  mortify  the 
deeds  of  the  flesh,  you  shall  live.”  (Rom.  VIII,  14, 
13).  “Walk  in  the  Spirit,  and  you  shall  not  fulfil 
the  lusts  of  the  flesh.  .  .  .  But  if  you  are  led  by  the 
Spirit,  you  are  not  under  the  law.”  (Gal.  V,  16, 
18).  True,  the  supernatural  communion  with  God 
through  grace  is  not  equivalent  to  the  striving  after 
ethical  perfection;  otherwise  noble  pagans  would 
possess  justification.  The  life  of  grace  can  exist  in 
the  soul  without  asceticism,  as  is  the  case  with  chil¬ 
dren  not  yet  come  to  the  use  of  reason.  If  we  con- 


96 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


sider  the  life  of  grace  and  asceticism  in  their  true 
relation  to  each  other,  we  find  that  asceticism  occupies 
a  subordinate  position;  it  is  a  means  to  an  end,  that 
is,  the  means  by  which  we  receive  the  divine  life  and 
by  which  the  divine  life  increases  in  us.  For,  since 
this  life  must  be  lived  within  the  limitations  of  our 
natural  powers,  and  since  we  tend  to  use  the  facul¬ 
ties  with  which  we  are  endowed  by  nature  for  material 
ends  that  alienate  us  from  God,  it  follows  as  a  matter 
of  course  that  these  faculties  must  first  be  fitted  for 
their  higher,  supernatural  functions  by  asceticism; 
that  is,  they  must  be  trained  in  striving  after  ethical 
perfection,  which  is  the  work  of  the  human  will  no 
less  than  of  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

But  when  the  disgraceful  chains  of  slavery,  the 
chains  of  low  desires,  are  broken,  and  the  soul  has 
soared  into  the  higher  realm  of  moral  freedom,  then 
the  Divine  Master  takes  the  human  will  into  His  holy 
school  and  imprints  a  new  spiritual  character  on  the 
whole  exterior  conduct  of  life.  First  He  awakens  in 
His  docile  pupil  an  ardent  love  of  God .  The  same 
Holy  Ghost,  who  proceeds  from  the  Father  and  the 
Son,  and  embraces  them  both  in  the  indescribable 
kiss  and  golden  stream  of  infinite  love;  the  self-same 
Holy  Ghost  to  whom  on  this  account  the  Church  has 
given  the  name  “Charity,”  is  the  bond  of  love  which 
unites  God  and  the  soul.  Man  by  nature  is  neither 
worthy  nor  able  to  enter  into  this  intimate  union  with 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  97 


God.  Before  becoming  the  bride  of  the  Son  of  God, 
the  soul  must  first  be  ennobled  by  implanting  in  it 
the  supernatural  life;  then  only  is  it  prepared  to  re¬ 
ceive,  through  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  higher  love,  alone 
worthy  of  God,  by  which  it  can  appear  before  the 
Heavenly  Father  as  His  child  and  before  the  Eternal 
Word  as  His  bride.  “The  charity  of  God  is  poured 
forth  in  our  hearts,  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  is  given 
to  us.”  (Rom.  V,  5).  In  this  charity  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  nobler  because  supernatural,  the  Christian 
finds  the  cardinal  point  of  his  spiritual  striving. 
Hence  the  Apostle  in  his  ardor  pours  forth  that  inim¬ 
itable  canticle  of  love  in  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  his 
First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians:  “If  I  speak  with 
the  tongues  of  men  and  of  angels,  and  have  not  char¬ 
ity,  I  am  become  as  sounding  brass,  or  a  tinkling  cym¬ 
bal.  And  if  I  should  have  prophecy  and  should  know 
all  mysteries,  and  all  knowledge,  and  if  I  should  have 
all  faith,  so  that  I  could  remove  mountains,  and  have 
not  charity,  I  am  nothing.  And  if  I  should  distrib¬ 
ute  all  my  goods  to  feed  the  poor,  and  if  I  should 
deliver  my  body  to  be  burned,  and  have  not  charity, 
it  profiteth  me  nothing.”  (1  Cor.  XIII,  1-3) .  Char¬ 
ity  in  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  queen  of  all  virtues. 
“And  now  there  remain  faith,  hope,  charity,  these 
three;  but  the  greatest  of  these  is  charity.”  (1  Cor. 
XIII,  13).  Charity  is  the  root  and  foundation  of  a 
virtuous  life  and  for  this  reason  St.  Paul  wishes  that 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


his  Ephesians  should  be  “rooted  and  founded  in  char¬ 
ity.”  (Eph.  Ill,  17).  Charity  is  the  form  and  stim¬ 
ulus  of  all  spiritual  striving;  therefore  he  writes  to 
the  Galatians  that  “in  Christ  Jesus  only  availeth  faith 
that  worketh  by  charity.”  (Gal.  V,  6).  Finally, 
charity  is  the  goal  and  crown  of  all  religion;  there¬ 
fore  he  instructs  his  disciple  Timothy,  that  “the  end 
of  the  commandment  is  charity  from  a  pure  heart, 
and  a  good  conscience,  and  an  unfeigned  faith.”  (1 
Tim.  I,  5). 

Through  the  power  of  supernatural  charity  the 
Holy  Ghost  draws  the  soul  within  the  circle  of  the 
divine  life.  This  charity  has  its  origin  in  Heaven 
and  leads  back  to  Heaven;  in  this  way  it  may  be  said 
to  be  the  golden  ring  that  encircles  the  Creator  and 
the  creature.  It  is  not  we  who  first  loved  God,  but  the 
reverse.  And  he  who  remains  in  charity,  remains 
in  God,  and  God  in  him.  This  love  for  the  Holy 
Ghost  has  drawn  from  the  souls  of  God’s  friends  a 
music  like  the  music  of  TEolian  harps  from  another 
world;  whether  a  St.  Bernard,  a  Suso,  a  St.  Bonaven- 
ture  or  a  Thomas  a  Kempis  extolled  it  in  words  as 
the  purest  and  highest  of  all  earthly  goods;  or  whether 
the  mystics  concentrated  their  sentiments  on  the  one 
word,  charity,  as  in  the  case  of  St.  Augustine:  “0 
my  God!  Thou  are  God  and  thou  art  mine!”  or 
in  the  rich,  full  love  of  the  Seraphic  Beggar  of  As- 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  99 

sisi:  “My  God  and  my  All!  Amor  non  amatur: 
Eternal  Charity  is  not  loved.” 

Out  of  this  relationship  of  pure  love  there  blossoms 
through  the  instrumentality  of  the  Holy  Ghost  a  most 
trusting  friendship  with  Him  in  fervent  prayer.  The 
sweet  Guest  of  the  soul  Himself  bears  testimony  to  our 
being  children  of  God.  (Rom.  VIII,  16).  Now  the 
Holy  Ghost  takes  His  trusting  children  into  the  true 
high-school  of  the  inner  life.  “The  Spirit  also  help- 
eth  our  infirmity.  For  we  know  not  what  we  should 
pray  for  as  we  ought;  but  the  Spirit  himself  asketh 
for  us  with  unspeakable  groanings.  And  he  that 
searcheth  the  hearts,  knoweth  what  the  Spirit  desireth; 
because  he  asketh  for  the  saints  according  to  God.” 
(Rom.  VIII,  26,  27).  He  is  the  greatest  Master  of 
the  life  of  prayer.  As  a  musician  plays  upon  the 
strings  of  his  lyre,  so  He  stirs  the  Christian  soul  to  its 
uttermost  depths,  playing  upon  it  as  an  instrument, 
awakening  in  it  a  desire  for  God,  and  stimulating  it 
to  prayer.  He  presents  to  the  heart  the  proper  peti¬ 
tions,  so  that  it  may  not  ask  for  those  things  that  are 
opposed  to  its  spiritual  welfare;  He  has  arranged  the 
Lord’s  Prayer  so  that  we  do  not  make  the  fourth 
petition  first  and  the  first  in  the  fourth  place;  He  or¬ 
dains  that  our  prayer  should  not  degenerate  into  mere 
begging;  that  adoration,  gratitude,  and  reconciliation 
should  have  their  place  also.  He  gives  us  the  true 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


spirit  of  prayer,  making  confident  intercourse  with 
God  a  joyful  necessity,  so  that  we  are  forced  to  go  to 
the  Father  of  Light  as  the  babe  presses  close  to  the 
heart  of  its  mother.  Finally,  He  bestows  on  us  the 
right  disposition  for  prayer,  inner  peace  and  unction, 
making  the  heart  feel  that  it  is  at  home  with  God. 
The  Holy  Ghost  gives  these  chosen  ones  a  quite  spe¬ 
cial  and  extraordinary  grace  by  which  the  deep 
springs  of  the  soul  are  opened  up  and  flow  towards 
God  in  a  higher  form  of  intercourse:  “Yet  by  the 
Spirit  he  speaketh  mysteries.”  (1  Cor.  XIV,  2). 

To  sum  up,  the  whole  interior  life  of  the  Christian 
is  to  such  an  extent  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  that 
without  Him  we  cannot  so  much  as  utter  the  ejacula¬ 
tion,  “Lord  Jesus!”  (1  Cor.  XII,  3). 

And  as  He  entrusts  the  Church  with  the  ministry  of 
divine  truth  and  works  in  the  priesthood  as  the  invis¬ 
ible  Regent  of  the  Church,  so  that  the  Holy  Ghost  has 
appointed  bishops  as  the  shepherds  of  the  Church,  as 
the  Apostle  tells  us,  and  the  priests  should  exhibit 
themselves  as  “the  ministers  of  God,  in  the  Holy 
Ghost”  (2  Cor.  VI,  6),  and  as  every  blessing  and 
every  sacrifice  made  is  His  doing,  so  that  the  Church 
stands  “an  habitation  of  God  in  the  Spirit”  (Eph.  II, 
22);  thus  He  governs  and  fructifies  the  Paradise  of 
the  Church  with  the  richest  and  most  manifold  forms 
of  liturgical  and  private  prayer,  so  that  a  road  to 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  101 


God  is  offered  to  every  kind  of  character,  to  every 
mood,  and  to  every  need. 

In  the  fifth  chapter  of  his  Epistle  to  the  Galatians 
St.  Paul  tells  of  the  fruits  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the 
soul,  after  he  had  first  painted  the  dark  picture  of  the 
works  of  the  flesh.  He  places  charity  at  the  head  of 
all  gifts  and  following  upon  this  virtue,  “peace  and 
joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,” — the  peace  that  the  world 
cannot  give  and  that  “surpasses  all  understanding” 
(Phil.  IV,  7),  that  inner  peace  of  the  heart  which 
renders  man  happy  in  the  possession  of  a  good  con¬ 
science  and  enables  him  to  rise  above  all  the  terrors 
of  the  world;  that  peace  which  the  Apostle  would  have 
triumph  in  the  Christian  soul  (2  Col.  Ill,  15).  This 
calmness  of  heart  which  the  ancient  mystics  so  hap¬ 
pily  named  “maze,”  through  the  grace  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  becomes  inexpressible  joy.  Before  ascending 
to  His  Father,  the  Divine  Master  had  promised  His 
disciples  that  their  sorrow  should  be  turned  into  joy. 
This  fountain  of  joy  began  to  flow  at  Pentecost  with 
the  coming  of  the  heavenly  Consoler,  and  since  that 
time  it  has  not  ceased  to  flow  wherever  a  heart  was 
found  that  gave  itself  unreservedly  to  the  guidance 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  spring  of  this  spiritual  joy 
has  never  yet  been  exhausted,  not  even  under  the  heat 
of  the  most  agonising  suffering,  beginning  with  St. 
Stephen  in  the  first  century,  about  whom  it  is  so  beau- 


102 


THE  TRUE  LIFE  ' 


tifully  said  in  the  office  of  the  Church,  that  the  stones 
became  sweet  to  him;  up  to  St.  Sophie  Barat  in  the 
20th  century,  who  said  so  touchingly  that  not  all  the 
flowers  in  the  world  held  so  much  honey  as  the  gall 
and  vinegar  of  the  dying  Redeemer  in  the  Holy 
Ghost.  It  is  remarkable  that  St.  Paul  associates  this 
peace  and  joy  of  the  soul  with  the  Holy  Ghost:  “The 
kingdom  of  God  is  .  .  .  justice,  and  peace,  and 
joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.”  (Rom.  XIV,  17).  “Now 
the  God  of  hope  fill  you  with  all  joy  and  peace  in 
believing;  that  you  may  abound  in  hope,  and  in  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.”  (Rom.  XV,  13).  He 
praises  the  Thessalonians  because  they  received  “the 
word  in  much  tribulation,  with  joy  of  the  Holy  Ghost.” 
(1  Thess.  I,  6). 

The  Holy  Ghost  bestows  on  the  soul  which  He  has 
taken  unto  Himself  the  precious  adornment  of  His 
seven  gifts.  The  most  valuable  jewel  in  this  bridal 
crown  is  the  gift  of  wisdom,  which  in  the  fervent 
Middle  Ages  was  looked  upon,  next  to  the  divine  vir¬ 
tues,  as  the  most  precious  of  all  graces,  because  it 
comprises  in  a  higher  synthesis  the  three  infused  vir¬ 
tues,  and  because  it  is  the  only  soil  on  which  the  spir¬ 
itual  life  can  thrive.  The  sublime  gift  of  wisdom 
does  not,  like  the  gift  of  knowledge,  consist  in  a  one¬ 
sided  enlightenment  of  the  understanding,  but,  as  the 
Latin  root  sapere  (  =  to  taste)  shows,  in  a  quicken¬ 
ing  of  the  will  and  a  stimulation  of  all  the  powers  of 


WITH  THE  TEACHER  OF  NATIONS  103 


the  soul,  so  that  the  whole  heart  becomes  filled  with 
a  strong  love  of  God  and  His  interests.  The  soul 
is  gradually  drawn  away  from  the  deceitful  pleasures 
of  the  world,  led  home  to  the  world  of  grace,  and 
peacefully  settled  there.  St.  Thomas  of  Aquin 
describes  this  gift  in  the  expressive  words,  “cognitio 
Dei  affectiva  et  experimental is" — an  inner  experimen¬ 
tal  perception  of  God  to  which  the  loving  heart  at¬ 
tains.  (2a  2ae,  qu.  97,  art.  II,  ad  2).  Thus  the 
man  endowed  with  this  spiritual  gift  reaches  the  state 
of  the  spiritualis  homo ,  of  whom  St.  Paul  speaks  so 
often  in  contradistinction  to  the  carnalis  homo,  the 
carnal  man,  who  lives  according  to  his  lower  instincts ; 
and  in  contradistinction  also  to  the  animalis  homo , 
the  man  of  the  world,  who  measures  all  things  by  the 
natural  standard  of  the  senses.  (1  Cor.  Ill,  1;  II, 
14;  2  Cor.  I,  12;  VII,  14).  Therefore  St.  Paul  de¬ 
scribes  as  spiritual  (wcu/xarucos)  the  man  who  lives, 
not  according  to  his  spiritual  nature,  but  who,  by  the 
grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  participates  in  the  spiritual 
nature  of  God,  who  lives  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  is  urged 
and  lifted  up  by  Him.  “Now  we  have  received  not 
the  spirit  of  this  world,  but  the  Spirit  that  is  of  God; 
that  we  may  know  the  tilings  that  are  given  us  from 
God.  Which  things  also  we  speak,  not  in  the  learned 
words  of  human  wisdom;  but  in  the  doctrine  of  the 
Spirit,  comparing  spiritual  things  with  spiritual.  But 
the  sensual  man  perceiveth  not  these  things  that  are 


104 


THE  TRUE  LIFE 


of  the  Spirit  of  God;  for  it  is  foolishness  to  him,  and 
he  cannot  understand,  because  it  is  spiritually  exam¬ 
ined.”  (1  Cor.  II,  12,  13,  14).  At  this  stage  there 
is  for  St.  Paul,  who  is  urged  on  by  the  love  of  Christ, 
no  standing  still,  no  loitering  by  the  way. 

“As  by  sense 

Of  new  delight,  the  man  who  perseveres 
In  good  deeds,  doth  perceive  from  day  to  day 
His  virtue  growing.” 

(Dante,  Paradiso,  XVIII,  52-5,  Cary’s  tr.) 

Hence  this  continual  strengthening  and  growth  of 
the  inner  man  is  his  ardent  desire  and  constant  prayer 
for  himself,  for  his  fellow- workers,  and  for  the  flock 
entrusted  to  his  care.  We  can  see  this  from  the  con¬ 
clusion  of  his  epistles,  but  more  especially  from  the 
fervent  prayer  quoted  in  the  third  chapter  of  the 
Letter  to  the  Ephesians.  On  his  knees  he  prays 
God  that  by  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost  they  should 
be  interiorly  strengthened.  This  constant  progress 
in  spiritual  striving  he  considers  to  be  the  most  im¬ 
portant  concern  of  the  apostle  and  the  shepherd,  the 
highest  aim  and  most  glorious  crown  of  his  labors, 
because  through  it  is  reached  the  spiritual,  that  is,  the 
divine,  life  on  earth. 


THE  END 


INDEX 


Adam,  The  new,  13,  74,  75,  76. 
Albert  the  Great,  Bl.,  89. 
Anthroposophy,  38. 

Apostles,  9,  11,  19,  21,  24,  28, 
29,  40,  55  sq. 

Ascension  of  Christ,  28. 
Asceticism,  95. 

Athanasius,  St.,  37  sq. 
Augustine,  St.,  14,  25,  27,  39, 
40,  43,  46,  48,  89,  98. 

Baptism,  56  sq.,  60,  89,  91;  see 
also  Rebirth. 

Basil,  St.,  37. 

Beatific  vision,  18. 

Bernard,  St.,  87,  89,  98. 
Bishops,  100. 

Bonaventure,  St.,  98. 

Bread  of  life,  9  sqq. 

Charity,  15  sq.,  24,  27,  41,  47, 
49,  50,  79,  85,  87,  96,  97,  98, 
101,  103. 

Childhood,  Adoptive,  62  sqq. 
Christianity  a  religion  of  mys¬ 
teries,  93. 

Chrysostom,  St.,  15,  89. 

Church,  The,  44,  76,  100. 
Clement  of  Alexandria,  46. 
Communion  of  love  and  grace, 
23  sqq.,  53. 

Consoler,  The,  30. 

Council  of  Trent,  39. 

Cross,  The,  82  sq. 

Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  St.,  16. 


Death,  55  sqq. 

Discipline,  71. 

Easter  candle,  60  sq. 

Eucharist,  Holy,  10  sqq.,  14,  15, 
16,  17,  18,  20,  21,  43,  44. 

Faith,  41  sq.,  51,  78,  89,  93. 
Fear,  23,  49. 

Food  for  the  soul,  8  sqq. 

Francis  of  Assisi,  St.,  98  sq. 
Friendship,  19,  86  sq.,  99  sq. 

Gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  102  sqq. 
Glory,  42,  53,  65. 

God  the  Father,  62  sqq. 

Grace,  6,  20,  22,  23,  27,  36,  37 
sqq.,  41,  42,  43,  44,  49,  50.  53, 
54,  56,  62,  64,  74,  76,  77, 
82,  84,  85,  86,  87,  95,  96,  100, 
103. 

Heaven,  54,  69,  93. 

Holy  Ghost,  5  sq.,  15,  17,  20,  24, 
27  sqq.,  29,  30,  31,  40,  58,  62, 
84  sqq.,  96  sqq.,  104. 

Hugh  of  St.  Victor,  14. 
Humility,  80  sq. 

Hypostatic  Union,  38. 

* 

Ignatius  of  Antioch,  St.,  59. 
Incarnation,  12,  37,  47,  70,  75, 
76  sq.,  84. 

Indwelling  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in 
the  soul,  86  sqq. 

105 


106  INDEX 


Jesus  Christ,  3  sqq.,  8  sqq.,  15, 
16,  17,  18,  19,  20,  21,  22,  23, 

24,  25,  26,  27,  28,  29,  30,  31, 

37,  38,  40,  42,  47,  51,  54,  56,- 

58,  59,  60,  61,  62,  63,  66,  67, 

68,  70,  71,  72,  73,  74,  75,  76, 

78,  79,  80,  81,  82,  83,  95,  100, 

101. 

John,  St.,  22,  23,  46  sqq.,  56, 
75,  89. 

Joy,  30  sqq.,  41  sq.,  69,  101. 

Judgment,  52  sq. 

Justification,  56,  70,  84. 

Leonidas,  88  sq. 

Lea  the  Great,  St.,  14,  70. 

Life,  The  new,  6,  18,  61,  84 
sqq.;  The  inner  divine,  29  sq., 
50;  Eternal,  53. 

Light  of  God  within  us,  36  sq. ; 
59  sq. 

Love,  15  sqq.;  The  joyous  song 
of,  19  sqq.,  24,  27,  41,  47,  49, 
50,  96,  103. 

Mary,  Bl.  Virgin,  46,  76. 

Meschler,  M.,  88. 

Messias,  3  sq.,  6,  10. 

Multiplication  of  loaves  and 
fishes,  8  sq. 

Mysterium  iniquitatis,  92. 

Mysticism  of  Christ,  73  sqq. 

New  life,  The,  6. 

Nicodemus,  3  sqq.,  47. 

Obedience,  24  sq.,  70  sq. 

Pantheism,  37  sq. 

Participation  in  the  Divine  Na¬ 
ture,  35  sqq.,  38,  70. 

Paul,  St.,  44,  55  sqq.,  60,  62  sq., 
65,  67,  68,  70,  72,  73,  74,  76, 
77,  78,  79,  80,  82,  83,  84,  88, 


89,  90,  91,  93,  94,  101,  102,  103, 
104. 

Paulinus  of  Nola,  46. 

Peace,  30,  100,  101. 

Perfection,  52,  53  sq. 

Peter,  St.,  11  sq.,  35  sqq.,  40, 
41,  42,  43,  44. 

Philip,  St.,  19. 

Prayer,  43,  67,  99  sq. 

Rebirth,  Spiritual,  3  sqq.,  35 
sqq.,  47  sqq.,  56,  76. 
Redemption,  12,  21. 

Relationship  of  Man  to  God,  62 
sqq.,  74  sqq. 

Reverence,  66  sq. 

Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus,  17,  19, 
30  sq. 

Salvation,  Economy  of,  29,  42  sq. 
Sanctification,  56  sqq.,  93  sqq. 
Scheeben,  M.,  89. 

Sermons,  42  sq. 

Sin,  51  sq.,  53,  56  sqq.,  90  sq. 
Sophie  Rarat,  St.,  102. 

Stephen,  St.,  101  sq. 

Sting  of  the  flesh,  80  sq. 
Suffering,  72  sq. 

Suso,  98. 

Temptation,  52. 

Theophoroi,  88. 

Theosophy,  38l 
Thomas  a  Kempis,  98. 

Thomas  Aquinas,  St.,  15,  68,  103. 
Trinity,  12,  20,  23. 

Trust  in  God,  66  sq. 

Vnio  mystica,  24. 

Vine,  Parable  of  the,  25  sqq., 
44. 

Will,  Reform  of  the,  95  sq. 
Wisdom,  102  sq. 

Works,  Good,  26  sq. 


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